MORE PLEASE! ARCHIBALD EAGER TO KEEP THISTLE ON THE MARCH
Archibald hopes run continues for Thistle
IF Alan Archibald does harbour one regret about the year just gone, it’s doubtless that it had to end at all. When his side lost at Motherwell in late September, an unenviable record of no wins from their opening nine matches was chalked up.
How bleak the approaching winter months then seemed.
What has transpired since then, however, has been nothing short of astonishing. Just once in their 10 subsequent outings have Partick tasted defeat. Four straight league wins in the top flight were claimed for the first time since 1977.
A deserved share of the spoils at Pittodrie on Wednesday night meant November and December came and went without loss.
The prospect of visiting Celtic Park tomorrow is not one that’s about to be taken lightly but, for the Firhill manager, grounds for optimism are now boundless.
‘I’m delighted. It was a great point,’ Archibald reflected.
‘To go there against one of the best — if not the best — strike forces in the league and leave with a clean sheet was tremendous.
‘Their wide players are fantastic and we limited them to very few chances. Tomas Cerny had one save to make and they hit the bar once, but that was about it.
‘We could even have stolen a win at the end through Mathias Pogba’s chance but I was pleased with the performance as well as the result.
‘It keeps our momentum going and there were a lot of positives for us. Our defensive display was terrific, as a unit and as a team.
‘Consequently, we’re going to Parkhead with a level of confidence. It was always the plan to put a run of results together, knowing the games at Pittodrie and Parkhead would take care of themselves.
‘It’s totally different going into matches like these with a head of steam as opposed to being on a bad run. Against Aberdeen, you could see the trust our players had in each other.’
Thistle have every right to allow their eyes to now be drawn to Ross County and Inverness Caley Thistle — the sides immediately above them in the Premiership table.
On recent evidence, there is every reason to believe one — if not both — of the Highland pair can yet be caught in the coming weeks.
But in a division that’s becoming tighter than piano wire, it would also be negligent to ignore the fact they are also just four points ahead of Kilmarnock — the side currently sitting in the play-off spot. Accordingly, Archibald steadfastly refuses to class tomorrow’s trip across Glasgow as some kind of bonus match.
‘No, I believe we need to take something from every match we play now,’ he stated.
‘The bonus part comes from the fact the teams around us don’t expect us to get anything from Pittodrie or Parkhead.
‘But outside the top three it’s so competitive at the moment, anyone can finish in that secondbottom position, so you just want to get as many wins as possible until you’re safe.’
Not since 1993 have Partick left Celtic Park with a win but only a fool would completely dismiss the possibility of a repeat tomorrow.
Notwithstanding the formidable form of the visitors, Ronny Deila’s side have found home comfort hard to come by this season.
Without a win in their past four matches at Parkhead, the Norwegian’s charges have already failed to defeat Kilmarnock, Hearts and Motherwell in the east end this term.
‘Knowing other teams have done something definitely inspires you,’ Archibald said.
‘We’ll sit down and look at the performances of those teams to see if we can take anything from them to help us get a result there. Is it a good time to go there? Only if our own performance is good,’ added Archibald.
‘We’ve said in the past when we’ve gone there — it’s a good time because they’re this or they’re that or it’s after a big European game — and then been turned over.
‘Your own performance has got to be right and you then hope you can maybe get the fans on their backs in the first five to 10 minutes and build on that. The key is getting a good start.
‘The other vital factor is maintaining your discipline, making sure you have 11 players on the pitch and that you keep yourself in the game.’