McCall out to finish up quarter on high at Accies
Thistle manager feels game will define start to the season
THERE is an argument to be made that the latest round of international fixtures arrived at just the wrong time for Partick Thistle.
After recording three defeats on the bounce, a 4-0 rout of Ayr United followed a fortnight ago before the second tier took a break for the World Cup qualifiers.
The Jags were kept busy during the fallow week with an SPFL Trust Trophy tie against Queen of the South – a contest Thistle lost 2-0 – but with the Championship set to return tomorrow night when Ian McCall’s side make the short journey to Hamilton, the Thistle manager believes the clash with Accies will provide an apt yardstick for the campaign so far.
“We played very well in the game against Ayr but just like the Queen of the South game, it’s done now and we need to look forward,” McCall said. “It’s a game that looks like it will decide whether Hamilton have had a really poor first quarter and we’ve had a good first quarter – or we’ve had an okay one and they’ve had a kind-of-okay one.
“It’s never easy coming down. You’ve got to say that Hamilton did ever so well to stay up [in the Premiership] for so long with the crowds that they get and things like that.
“I know [Accies boss] Stuart Taylor; I had him as a player a couple of times. He’s very well thought of in football and he’s been at a couple of big clubs, albeit not as manager. Obviously he wanted to get out on his own and face all the challenges that the rest of us face.”
One of the difficulties facing McCall at present lies in defence after injury has wreaked havoc with his back line. Darren Brownlie is expected to miss the majority, if not the entirety, of the campaign, while experienced centre-half Steven Bell – whose addition last February played a key role in Thistle’s League One title triumph – is not expected to return to the first-team fray anytime soon.
It leaves the Thistle manager short of options in central defence for the remainder of the season, but he believes this particular issue could be rectified once the January transfer window opens.
“Steven has had a wee setback and we’re going to have a chat next week to see how we go forward from there,” McCall said.
“That leaves the squad very, very small. Everybody is capable of playing but obviously I think we’ll need to look at things in January.
“[On-loan goalkeeper] Harry [Stone] got a scan at Hearts. I spoke to him last night and he’s feeling a bit better but he probably won’t be involved on Friday night. Touch wood, we hope to have him back in training next week.”
The 4-0 dismantling of Ayr in their last league outing will no doubt leave the Jags feeling confident going into the match at the Fountain of Youth Stadium, and McCall believes another victory would keep his side’s tilt for the play-offs on track.
With the lack of a big hitter in the second tier and the likes of Dunfermline struggling, the Thistle manager reckons the nip-and-tuck nature of the Championship will only intensify as the season progresses.
“The league will get even tighter,” he added. “It’s hard to imagine that Dunfermline will stay the way they currently are and I don’t see one team running away with it like a Dundee United or a Hearts.
“I’ve said all along that wins come at a premium and our target is to try and win five games minimum each quarter. If you do that, you’ll end up high up the league.”
I’ve said all along that our target is to try and win five games minimum each quarter