TIME FOR SHOCK THERAPY
Fox hopes stunning cup win at Celtic can lift sorry Jags as Thistle seal deal for McCall
FOR a team shorn of confidence and unable to buy a win Celtic Park may seem like the worst place to visit for a pick-me-up.
Still, with Ian McCall and Alan Archibald waiting in the wings to take over at Firhill, Thistle keeper Scott Fox believes the lack of pressure and expectancy might just work in the Jags’ favour.
McCall, Thistle boss between 2007-2011, has agreed to quit his role at Ayr and make a Firhill return after Gary Caldwell’s sacking last week.
The 54-year-old revealed over the weekend he had spoken to Thistle about taking over but finally agreed terms on a deal late last night.
And it’s understood Archibald, the man Caldwell replaced in October 2018, will also return as McCall’s No.2 if he takes the job.
The quarter-finals of the Betfred Cup await for Thistle on Wednesday night and the competition has been their only source of relief from a gruelling league campaign.
The expectation is any positive association will end on Wednesday night as they face the holders but Fox has urged Thistle to put up a fight as they take on Celtic.
The shotstopper, who came through the Hoops’ academy, said: “It might just be a shock result that gets us going again.
“We’re going to Parkhead now but anything can happen in football. We just need to stick together as a team and if we can produce a good performance then that will be good for our confidence.”
Those who saw Saturday’s defeat to Dunfermline would struggle to find any evidence to suggest Thistle have it in them to muster any kind of battling display.
The Jags were woefully ineffective against a Pars side who hadn’t won a league game since March, yet swaggered out of Maryhill on the back of a 3-0 win that could have been significantly more.
As soon as Kevin Nisbet opened the scoring there was a meek acceptance from Thistle regarding what was about to follow.
That further goals from Ryan Dow and Kyle Turner followed wasn’t a surprise and indeed Stevie Crawford’s side could well have won the game by a stronger margin.
Fox said: “The manager leaving’s no excuse, that was unacceptable. It was far too easy for Dunfermline. We can all hide behind that but we all know as individuals it wasn’t good enough.
“The fans are great when they are with you but they do voice their opinions and they have a right to do so. After the start to the season we’ve had, we’ve not given them anything to shout about. We owe them and we know if we can get them back onside then we can push up the table.”
And Fox warned Thistle need to find a bit of spirit in order that teams don’t relish their trips to Firhill.
He said: “We’re playing nice football at times but it’s not good enough in both boxes.
“Teams like to play against us so we need to change that. We want to make sure teams don’t fancy playing against us.”
Nisbet, who started the win off and put in an industrious performance, was thrilled to get one over the team who released him last year.
He said: “I definitely had extra motivation. It was my first time back at Firhill so to get a 3-0 win was brilliant.
“I still know a few of the Thistle lads. I talk to Stuart Bannigan and James Penrice and it’s been terrible what’s happened to Thistle.
“Over the past year they’ve just gone down and down and hopefully they’ll come back again soon.
“But I always felt I could have cut it at Thistle. I just had to play games and I got them with Raith Rovers last season when I barely missed a game. Now I’m at Dunfermline and I’m doing the same.”