TALKING THISTLE
July boot camp for Jags to shake off rust
IN-DEMAND goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon says that he was sold on a move to Partick Thistle by the Firhill club’s willingness to give young players a chance.
The up-and-coming keeper trained with the likes of Hibs and Blackburn Rovers as he mulled over his future after running down his contract at Cowdenbeath.
But the welcome that the 19-year-old got while on a similar training stint with the Jags swayed him towards joining the Maryhill outfit, and his mind was made up when he looked at the young players who have been blooded by Thistle in recent times.
He is desperate now to work as hard as he can to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Liam Lindsay and earn a place in Alan Archibald’s starting eleven.
“It’s definitely a key factor in joining a club that they give youth a chance,” Sneddon said. “You’ve got to look at how many young players they do play, because you obviously want to be given a chance at some point.
“It’s good that Thistle aren’t scared to do that, and hopefully I’ll be one of the players to make that breakthrough soon.
“My contract was up in January, so I went on trial at Hibs, but I was also in at Thistle as well for a week doing a bit of training.
“I really enjoyed it and it made me want to come here. As soon as I was involved with the guys I knew it’s where I wanted to be, so as soon as I heard they were interested in bringing me in then I was sold on coming.
“There was interest here and there, but nothing concrete, so I was hoping Thistle would be in touch with Cowdenbeath, and thankfully that happened.
“The manager and Kenny Arthur were brilliant with me when I was in for that week, and I have seen throughout the season that they are a club on the up. They are a top six club in the Premiership, so it’s great to be here.”
There are of course some considerable obstacles to first-team football for Sneddon in place at Thistle, with regular No.1 Tomas Cerny and the returning Ryan Scully also vying for the gloves.
And the former Hearts youngster is looking forward to learning from his more experienced colleagues.
“I’m looking to get in with them and see where I am in comparison,” he said. “TomasCernyis someone I really admire.
“He’s been at that level for a long time and he was probably one of Thistle’s best players last season, so I’ll be looking to learn from him for sure.
“I want to just get settled in, and get back into full-time training. I’ll obviously need to get a lot fitter, so I want to get my head down and improve as much as I can, and we’ll see where that takes me.” PARTICK Thistle will ramp up their preparations for the new season with a training camp in Colchester in early July.
The Jags will travel south on July 4 for five days, where they will play two closeddoors games against Conference South side Hampton and Richmond Borough and English League One outfit Southend United. Alan Archibald’s men will then play their only friendly in Scotland when they visit Dumbarton on July 11.
The Thistle squad are due to report back for the first day tomorrow morning.
A statement on the club website, ptfc.co.uk, read: “The Jags management team has already planned another gruelling schedule for the players as they look to get them into the best possible shape ahead of the first Betfred Cup matches.
“After two weeks of intensive double sessions the squad will travel to England for a week-long training camp on July 4.
“Another tough week is lined up for the Jags south of the border with the squad also playing two friendlies, both of which are behind closed doors.
“Thistle return to Scotland on July 9 ahead of the only open doors friendly, a short trip to Dumbarton on Tuesday, July 11. Ticket details for the Dumbarton fixture will be confirmed shortly.”