I HAD SAME HEAT THAT MARK HAD
PARTICK boss Alan Archibald insists he has every sympathy for sacked Motherwell boss Mark McGhee as it could have been himself facing the axe.
Archibald was under huge pressure after the Jags failed to win any of their first eight league games of the season.
The Thistle gaffer cited the recent dismissal of English Premier League title winner Claudio Ranieri as evidence of the madness currently engulfing the game.
Partick travel to face Dundee at Dens tonight knowing a win would see them move above the Dark Blues into the top half of the table.
Ironically when they met in October both sides occupied the two bottom spots in the league.
Archibald said: “I do feel for Mark. It’s disappointing when you see any other manager losing their job.
“I like Mark. I spoke to him after we played and he would always have words of wisdom for you. I appreciated that.
“It just shows you that football is crazy. He was top six last year and his side are still more than capable of getting top six this year.
“The last time we went up to Dens, Paul Hartley and I were both at the bottom of the league.
“It was Paul’s name up at that point and he was under pressure.
“A few weeks later it was me at the bottom of the league and getting a bit of stick. We have all taken a turn of it.
“Thankfully our club stuck by me and we’re now in a better position.
“I have a good relationship with the board here and long may it continue.
“Claudio Ranieri’s sacking just highlighted how mad football is now.
“It’s just madness to go from that extreme to losing his job.
“Mark will probably feel like that as well because he is not cut adrift by any manner of means. He was still in a decent position.”
Meanwhile, Jags defender Mustapha Dumbuya admits he is relieved his seven-month Achilles injury hell is over.
Dumbuya, who branded it “the worst injury of his career”, has now targeted a top-six finish for Partick in order to make up for a frustrating campaign.
The 12-times capped Sierra Leone international said: “This is the longest I’ve been out and it’s the worst injury I have ever had.
“Every day you have to do your rehab but it’s how mentally strong you are which determines how well you come back.
“We are good enough for the top six.”