In the week of John Lambie’s funeral, and on the day the powers-that-be named one of the stands at Firhill in his memory, it was hardly surprising that Alan Archibald looked to channel the spirit of the former Partick Thistle manager as the current incumbent of the hot seat strives to haul the club off the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership.
The toils and troubles of Thistle this season has generated the kind of bonfire of profanities that would’ve had Lambie himself struggling for an expletive-ridden torrent.
In the midst of Partick’s hour of need – or perhaps it should be 90 minutes of desperation – Archibald cheerily recalled those eye-opening days of yore that were as colourful as some of the language. In the grand Lambie traditions, Archibald may have been sorely tempted to seek respite in that favoured old Thistle haunt of Blackpool.
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“I’m on a rollercoaster,” said Archibald with a wry smile. The last five games of the season, starting with tomorrow’s crucial encounter with Hamilton, could end up being as fraught as a birl on the dodgems.
In the cut-and-thrust of the relegation battle, Archibald was happy to take a step back from the frontline and reflect on old times. “Blackpool was just madness,” he added. “We would play in the Scottish Cup on the Saturday. We would go down to Blackpool on the Sunday, the Monday and usually the Tuesday for the pigeon convention. It was what it was. A drinking session.
“We signed David Rowson, Kevin McKeown and Jamie Buchan. They turned up at the hotel to meet us and asked where the training facilities were.
“John just turned and went: ‘There they are there, son’. He was pointing to the beach. That was it. But we went out the following Saturday and got a performance.
“I have loads of memories but you can hardly print any of them. I didn’t always respect the way he did things when I was a 16-year-old, I just thought he was a mad, crazy man.
“When I walked into Firhill at 16, there was a half-naked guy screaming at me to get off the effin’ stairs. I wasn’t allowed to cross him on the stairs because of superstition. I didn’t even know that existed. I think it only existed in John’s head!
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“But he was outstanding. Everyone focused on the madness and the cigars and the crazy trips to Blackpool. But it was a minor miracle that he did what he did. He didn’t always get the plaudits because of the character he was.”
Asked how Lambie would have dealt with Thistle’s current situation, Archibald was swift to respond. “He did (deal with it), when he came back for what was his third stint and my second stint and he came and saved the club again when we were a penalty kick away from going down,” he said.
“He galvanised people and gave them the self-confidence to go and play. Listen, sometimes he wouldn’t talk to you for a week and then he would start you on Saturday. That’s the way he was. He got the best out of players and the club.”
Thistle’s players need to dig into their reserves and give it their best go as the season builds to a nail-nibbling finale. Having endured the kind of barren run in front of goal which has just about led to the strikers being handed an Ordnance Survey map to find the route to goal, Thistle are desperate for any kind of victory and arrest a grisly run of eight defeats in 10 games.
With Chris Erskine causing something of a stir earlier in the week by essentially suggesting that no Thistle footballer is deserving of a player of the year award at the club’s annual dishing out of the accolades, Archibald expressed empathy with the forward’s sentiments.
“I don’t agree in personal prizes and I would bin all Player of the Year awards,” he said “I understand where Chris is coming from and I think he is right. The last thing anyone wants is to stand up and get an award when you are at the bottom end of the league table.”
Thistle’s last goal came against Hamilton in a 2-1 defeat back in February. They haven’t scored in the five games since. “It is a concern but that is in the past and we can’t dwell on it. I have said that to the players we have to worry about the games ahead of us.
“I have seen us get out of this before and I have seen other teams get out of it. It could be one goal, one clean sheet or one win that turns things around and propels you.”
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