Spittal thankful to Spiders after securing Partick switch

Partick Thistle new boy Blair Spittal believes budding footballers in Scotland would only benefit from first-team football at an early age.

Whilst the debate about youth academies and the pathway for young players in the country is ongoing, the midfielder arrived from Dundee United on Thursday to sign a two-year deal with almost five years of first-team experience under his belt – and he is only 21.

Spittal made his debut for Queen’s Park – nicknamed the Spiders – in November 2012 when he was only 16 and earned a move to Tannadice at the end of the following season.

After making 108 appearances in tangerine and failing to get out of the Championship last season, he opted for a return to the top-flight with Thistle and believes he is all the better for having such relative experience.

“The only way you are going to gain experience is by playing first-team football and I was just glad I got the chance early on in my career,” he said.

“Queen’s Park are in a position where sometimes they have to give young players a chance.

“Through the years quite a lot of people have taken that chance and I am thankful to them for what they have done for me. I am looking to build on that now I am here.

“You want to play at the highest level you can and hopefully I can start to build on that.”

Spittal insists United remaining in the Championship following their play-off defeat to Hamilton was not the reason for leaving Tannadice.

“No, my mind was pretty much made in the season,” he said.

“It was time for a bit of a fresh start for me. I wasn’t playing my best football at the start of last season but hit a bit of form towards the end.

“I had been offered a contract but the chance to come to the Premiership with a team like Partick Thistle was one I couldn’t turn down.

“Once I spoke to the manager here (Alan Archibald) I knew this was the place to come to play football.”

Meanwhile United’s Betfred Cup Group C tie at Buckie Thistle has been moved back 24 hours and will now take place on Wednesday July 19, with an 8pm kick-off. The game has been rearranged at the request of both clubs.

Partick new boy Blair Spittal.