Harkins keen to return the favour by reviving Jags
PARTICK THISTLE midfielder Gary Harkins is hoping he can help revive the Jags’ season after admitting the club helped save his career.
The playmaker returned to Firhill last week on an 18-month contract, nearly 10 years after leaving in a £150,000 switch to Dundee.
Harkins joined Partick for the first time in 2007 and produced a rich vein of form following a frustrating spell with Blackburn Rovers and Grimsby.
The 33-year-old, who has also played for St Mirren, Ayr United and Morton before joining Queen of the South last summer, concedes his time in Maryhill helped him rediscover his love for the game.
Harkins said: “It was probably one of my favourite times in football. If the Thistle years had not happened then I would have chucked it, I loved being part of it and being here.
“It was always good fun coming back to Thistle, the fans gave me some pantomime booing but I think I did all right, I got the club some money when I moved on.”
Harkins is set to make his debut in Saturday’s trip to Dundee United and will attempt to ease Thistle’s relegation woes, with Gary Caldwell’s side five points adrift of safety.
Speaking to Jag Zone, he added: “It’s a really good team that are underachieving a bit at the moment, so hopefully we can lift that.
“It’s a really tough league and it’s about doing what we can do every week and hopefully we can pick up some points.”
Meanwhile, Falkirk have snapped up former Thistle skipper Abdul Osman on a deal for the rest of the season.
The 31-year-old joined Greek Superleague outfit PAS Lamia 1964 in the summer after being freed by Thistle following their relegation from the Premiership.
The ex-Gretna, Northampton Town and Crewe Alexandra midfielder failed to force his way into the starting line-up with the top-flight strugglers and was keen on a return to British football.
He left Greece in November and has been training with the Bairns since then.
Osman joins Scotland cap Paul Dixon in making the switch to Falkirk as manager Ray McKinnon seeks to overhaul his squad during the transfer window.
Loan striker Marcus Haber and left-back Mustapha Dumbuya have already been released and others are expected to follow as McKinnon seeks big improvements.
With Falkirk sitting bottom of the Championship, McKinnon said: “Abdul is a really strong operator in the middle of the park.
“He has been very impressive in training, he looks really fit and has played consistently at a good standard over the past few years.
“He has been captain at a number of his clubs, including Partick Thistle and Crewe, and will bring further experience and leadership to the dressing room alongside Paul Dixon.”
Osman could make his debut away to Ayr United on Saturday.
McKinnon added: “We hope to have Abdul in our squad for Saturday, providing we manage to get international clearance from the Greek FA, and we are also looking to continue to try and strengthen the group ahead of our trip to Ayr.”