Archibald stays on as Thistle keep faith in boss

Thistle stand by Archibald after drop and vow to back him with cash in bid to make quick return

PARTICK THISTLE have never been afraid to be a little different from other clubs. In his midfield prime, Jags icon Chic Charnley famously chased a maniac yielding a Samurai sword from a training session.

Kingsley the mascot doesn’t so much charm young supporters as scare the life out of them.

And now comes a decision by directors to stand by manager Alan Archibald, following Sunday’s relegation to the Championship.

Defeat to Livingston in the Premiership play-off final is likely to cost the Firhill club around £1million next season.

Yet, in a statement on their official website, chairman David Beattie vowed to resist the urge to make swingeing cutbacks across the board.

In a break from the established norm, Thistle will also resist the urge to sack the manager who propelled them to their highest league finish in over three decades just last season.

‘While we take hard lessons from this season on a number of fronts, our focus is now on getting back to the Premiership by this time next year,’ said Beattie.

‘Learning from other clubs before us, it is clear that slashing budgets is a false economy.

‘For the club to succeed in the Championship and remain prepared for that return to top-flight football, we need to have a competitive budget that will fully match our aspirations. Because of financial prudence in recent years, we are in a position to provide that.

‘On the playing side, the team needs to be rebuilt, effectively from scratch, and there is money in the budget to do that.

‘In considering the best person to help us achieve our objectives, it is our considered opinion that Alan Archibald is still the best man to be the Thistle manager.’

The decision of the Thistle board will please some supporters and dismay others.

Unable to replicate the post-Christmas recovery of previous seasons, the Maryhill side won just eight of their 38 league games, returning a goal difference of minus 30. Amongst supporters, there was a reluctant sense that Archibald (below) might have reached the end of the line. Yet a plea to be given a chance to correct his own mistakes found favour in the Firhill boardroom. ‘Alan steered the club to Premiership promotion and kept us there for five seasons, including a top-six finish, a feat not achieved by any other Thistle manager in at least 25 years,’ continued Beattie. ‘His honesty in admitting that mistakes were made last season is the mark of a man of integrity and his commitment to this club has never been in doubt.

‘He’s an intelligent manager, who knows Thistle and still has a passion for it. As a young manager, he remains well-regarded in the footballing world.

‘All of these things were factors in our decision. But, most importantly, Alan indicated in the strongest terms that he wanted the opportunity to put right what has happened, not for him personally, but for the sake of the club. We believe he can do it and that he deserves that chance.

‘So the challenge we have set Alan is to rebuild the team with the aim of one season in the Championship then back to the Premiership. We have also agreed that we must return to playing football like Partick Thistle — we can’t be anyone else.’

A shot-shy capitulation to Livingston featured limp performances over both games. Entering a league already featuring Ross County, Dundee United, Dunfermline and Falkirk, the Firhill board have staked everything on Archibald taking the team back up at the first attempt.

‘There will undoubtedly be those who feel we are being naïve or lacking in ambition in making this decision,’ said Beattie.

‘We are neither. It is our job to act in the best interests of this club. We believe keeping Alan Archibald falls under that heading. The board has faith and confidence in him and his ability to do the job in hand.’

Despite the financial blow sustained post-relegation, the Glasgow club remain committed to a new £4million training ground being built by Three Black Cats, the investment vehicle established by lottery winners Colin and Christine Weir.

Seeking a new chief executive after Ian Maxwell left to become the new CEO of the Scottish FA, former Thistle striker Gerry Britton is doing the job on an interim basis, with an announcement on players leaving the club expected before the weekend.

‘The rebuilding of the team got underway on Monday,’ added Beattie. ‘Further news on this will be announced by the end of this week.

‘Elsewhere, to all intents and purposes, it will be business as usual for the Thistle Weir Youth Academy and there won’t be any non-playing staff redundancies at the club.

‘We are also delighted that Three Black Cats has confirmed that it is continuing to develop a training ground for Thistle.

‘It will be operational from the start of the 2019/20 season, with further news on that in mid-June.’