IT’S ALL TO PLAY-OFF FOR

I get pilloried whether he starts or not, says Thistle boss Archibald

Rival managers Archibald and Hopkin prepare to face off in the bid to claim a seat at Scottish football’s top table for next season

THE relegation pressure which is currently gripping Alan Archibald has done nothing to blur his vision or blunt his hearing. Partick Thistle’s manager reads what people say every time he leaves Kris Doolan out of his starting line-up.

He hears the frustration of fans when a striker with an in-built capacity for goalscoring is left on the bench. And it is hard to find fault with their logic.

Doolan’s statistics speak for themselves. In 360 games, the striker has plundered 114 goals for Thistle.

He was at it again last Saturday, the only goal of the game against Dundee warding off the threat of automatic relegation to the Championship. Ross County’s 1-1 draw at St Johnstone wasn’t good enough in the end, but no one knew that when Doolan stepped into a Dens Park phonebox and ripped off his suit and glasses.

The 31-year-old has done this Superman act time and again. And yet, despite it all, his manager seems unconvinced.

Archibald makes the right noises. He says the right things.

But, come the first leg of the Premiership play-off final tonight, actions will speak louder than words. And Livingston’s physical up and at ’em approach might be better suited to using Conor Sammon up front instead of Doolan (below) at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

‘I’m aware of the debate around Kris,’ said the Thistle boss yesterday.

‘I think it puts pressure on other players because they know Kris is there. But that is a good thing. You want that pressure.

‘He can’t do everything. Some fans are aware football is not about one man. Kris can’t do it all the time.’

Archibald leans on some players more than others. Goalkeeper Tomas Cerny, midfielder Ryan Edwards and defender Niall Keown have started 30 games or more. Danny Devine, Paul McGinn, Adam Barton, Steven Lawless, Blair Spittal and Sammon have all started over 20 games.

In contrast, Doolan has started just 18 league games, coming off the bench 15 times.

And still he’s the joint top scorer, locked on ten goals with Sammon over all competitions.

Asked if Livingston away might be a game crying out for Irishman Sammon’s physicality, Archibald said: ‘Sometimes you need a more physical presence, particularly away from home. We touched on that last week at Dundee.

‘Before that, Kris had played two games in a short space of time, so we tried something different.

‘Good footballers like time on the ball. But sometimes in games of that magnitude, you don’t get that in the first 40 minutes. After that, it can open up and that’s what happened on Saturday.’

It is to Doolan’s great credit that he never spits the dummy or goes banging on the manager’s door.

‘Kris hasn’t chapped my door in about two years,’ said Archibald. ‘We speak all the time and I have a good relationship with him. Sometimes, it’s right to start him, sometimes it is not. As a manager, you get pilloried either way.

‘Because he scored last weekend, I should have started him. And if I start him, take him off when he doesn’t score, then I shouldn’t have. You can’t win.’

Yet Thistle’s boss is duty-bound to find a way to do so, with two games in four days looming against David Hopkin’s Livingston.

This time last season, Partick were already sunning themselves after gatecrashing the top six.

Fail to beat the Championship runners-up over two games — with all the advantages afforded to top-flight sides in this situation — and Archibald will be a manager under pressure.

‘We trust the players, they trust each other in the jobs they are going to do and they know they’ve given themselves a massive chance to stay in the league now,’ he said.

‘We gave the players Sunday off. They had been in constantly for ten days in a row, so we let them enjoy the relief of staying in the league for the time being.

‘They came back on Monday and that was our first focus, to sit and watch Livingston so that we know their strengths and weaknesses.’

Livvy have acquired a reputation as a team with a ferocious work-rate, impressive fitness and a direct approach. Archibald thinks people are showing them a lack of respect. ‘They have a great work ethic, but they’ve got good players, as well,’ continued the Jags boss. ‘Their back three are all former Celtic and Rangers players and they have that desire to prove themselves. ‘Everyone wants the underdogs to win. ‘We’re favourites and we have to deal with it.’