Scrooge mentality is a real gift for Thistle

THE season for ropey references to Scrooge may have passed but there’s nothing wrong with adopting a miserly approach in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

For Partick Thistle goalkeeper Tomas Cerny, the parsimonious performances of those in the Firhill club’s defensive line of late have been warmly received. You half-expect the Czech to take to the pitch in those fingerless gloves that old Ebenezer was fond of.

Cerny and his Thistle team-mates are in the midst of an unbeaten sequence in both league and cup that has been illuminated by four clean sheets in a row.

The in-form Jags face another test of this increasingly sturdy mettle tomorrow night when they host St Johnstone, the team directly above them in fifth place.

“We started the season with a clean sheet and then, for months after that, we struggled to do that again,” said Cerny, .

“As a goalkeeper, there’s nothing better. So it’s satisfying for me personally but, more importantly, it’s a big help to the team as a whole.

“We have been able to pick up the points in the past few weeks and we have gone from the bottom to the top six. When you are not conceding goals, it provides a great platform for the team,” added Cerny, who had a spell on the sidelines earlier in the campaign with a foot injury.

Thistle edged into the top six on goal difference after Saturday’s stalemate with Inverness. In their last four league games, Alan Archibald’s men have notched up two wins and two draws and it was the 3-1 win away to Ross County just before Christmas that provided the catalyst for this profitable run.

Cerny said: “That was a key part of our season. We played well in the two previous games against Hearts and Celtic but the County game was a turning point. We were getting better and better and that result was proof. It gave us belief we could turn things around and it kicked us off on this good recent run. We want to keep that going.

“We are going well in the league and we are still in the cup. We have a good platform to build upon in the second half of the season. But, in football that can change quickly so we need to stay focused.”