I ANSWERED THE McCALL
ALAN ARCHIBALD insists he’d never have agreed to be an assistant for anyone but Ian McCall, or any other club than Partick.
Just 11 months since he was sacked as Thistle boss, Archibald is back at Firhill as part of McCall’s backroom team along with Neil Scally.
After knocking back offers to manage in his own right, it may surprise some to see the Jags hero returning to the club in a supporting role.
But the 41-year-old insists he couldn’t turn down McCall, his manager during his time as a Partick player.
Or resist the chance to revive the fortunes of a club that has been on the slide since he led them to a top-six finish in their best-ever Premiership campaign in 2017.
Archibald said: “At this stage, where I am just now, I wouldn’t have done it for any other guy or club.
“It was just because it BY EUAN McLEAN was Ian, I’ve worked with him for 20-odd years.
“I know what he’s like as a manager and I trust him.”
Archibald used his time out wisely by taking up offers of help from Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes and an invitation from Brendan Rodgers to come oversee his training methods at Leicester.
Tonight he’ll be in the dugout at Rodgers’ old stomping ground, Celtic Park, as the new Jags management team is given a huge baptism of fire in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals.
But Archibald will be thrilled to be at the heart of it again.
He said: “It was hard to watch. While I was out Derek McInnes was excellent. I was doing a bit of work for him and I went up to visit him on a couple of occasions.
“I also went down to see Brendan Rodgers and he was great.”