SHACKLING DOBBIE KEY FOR ARCHIBALD
ALAN ARCHIBALD has urged his Partick Thistle players to defy all those who reckon they will be on the receiving end of a William Hill Scottish Cup shock on the plastic pitch at Palmerston tomorrow. Opponents Queen of the South, currently gunning for a promotion play-off place in the Ladbrokes Championship, boast a 20-goal talisman at their disposal in Stephen Dobbie. Thistle, by contrast, have endured a stuttering start to the Premiership season and sit second bottom of the table. Gary Naysmith’s team look to have momentum on their side but Archibald has no intention of seeing his Jags exit the Cup so early. ‘There will always be a couple of shocks in the Scottish Cup — we need to make sure it’s not us,’ he said. ‘People will look at a side which is at the bottom end of one league going in against a side in the top half of another. ‘The boys are aware people may see this as a potential shock. We just need to go about our business against a good side. ‘I saw Queens on a number of occasions during the winter break and they have good, experienced players like Dobbie and John Rankin — and good young players as well. We need to stop Dobbie as he has a raft of goals already this season.’ Archibald, meanwhile, is quite content to be playing on an artificial surface in Dumfries. ‘It can be a good thing as you could be going to a horrible pitch in January where it’s all rutted,’ he said. ‘We’re happier going there than to play on a torn-up grass pitch. There will be no excuses as we’ve trained on a plastic pitch for two months.’ Archibald views the return of long-term injury victims Callum Booth, Mustapha Dumbuya and captain Abdul Osman as akin to a January recruitment drive. ‘Callum, Muzzy and Abdul will all now come into contention — and Christie Elliott’s not too far away. ‘It’s like three new signings. We’ve been missing four or five guys since August, so getting three back will be invaluable.’ Archibald is in the market for a defender after on-loan Coventry man Jordan Turnbull was recalled then sold to Northampton Town. But he doesn’t expect a new man in place for the Queens tie, saying: ‘I hoped to get someone in by Thursday but didn’t, so it’s unlikely I’ll get anyone in before Saturday.’