BY all accounts, the boisterous, dressing room dust up at Ibrox has just about prompted Kofi Annan to head to Govan as a mediator.

Over at Firhill, meanwhile, the exchange of views among the Partick Thistle’s players has been done with slightly less crash, bang, wallop.

Given the club’s perilous position at the foot of the Ladbrokes Premiership, it could be easy for hostilities to break out but the open forums and clear the air discussions have been done with a calm, constructive civility.

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“I can understand how these things can go horribly wrong for whatever reason but it’s down to the type of people you have in your team,” said Kris Doolan ahead of today’s proverbial six pointer with Hamilton.

“We do try to help each other. We do understand that we all make mistakes. Only we can get us out of this. We got ourselves into it and we are not blaming anybody else. 

“We had the meeting last week. Other teams were off but we were still in trying to put things right. We spoke about what is expected. We need standards but we have let those standards slip this season. We have five games to bring that standard up to the level we know it can be. When we do sit down and have these discussions, people don’t shy away from them. They make mistakes, they put their hand up, we talk about it and get it out in the open. And then we try to go on the training pitch and put it right. From that point of view, honesty is the best policy.”

You’ll always get a good honest shift out of Doolan and the 31-year-old, who has endured a stop start campaign, is desperate to haul the team he supports to safety. Should Doolan find the net this weekend, he will achieve the landmark of 100 league goals for the Firhill club. The problem, of course, is that Thistle haven’t scored in the five games since they lost 2-1 to Hamilton in February. At this increasingly desperate time of the season, it doesn’t matter how they go in as long as they go in. A deflection here, a jammy poke there, a ricochet goodness knows where? “I’d take any kind of goal,” added Doolan.

“I’ve score plenty of sclaffs. They are the ones that usually go in. I’m not known for scoring amazing goals. The sclaffs are the ones I prefer because you score more of them. What better way to start scoring goals just after they have named a stand after John Lambie and walk away with three points and send everybody home happy.”

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With Chris Erskine’s well-documented social media observation that he would be embarrassed to receive a player of the year accolade at the club’s annual awards, Doolan appreciates where his team-mate is coming from. “Chris is not just a player, he is a fan like me,” he said.

“And it hurts the same way as it hurts me. We don’t just go home and forget about it. Chris is the same. That’s the mentality we need for the next five games. That mental strength will get us through.

“I’ve been here long enough, I’ve been through the doom and gloom and the good times. I’ve seen both sides and I know what it takes for us to score goals. I’ve not scored nearly 100 flukes. I’ve scored because I know how to be in there to score them. We have five games now where we will, hopefully, throw everything at teams and score our way to safety.”

Meanwhile Gary Woods is confident that the Scottish Premiership split has given Hamilton a good chance to avoid the drop.

Despite being drawn to play just two home games in their final five matches of the season, Accies start the run-in with games against relegation rivals Thistle and Ross County.

Hamilton are currently five points clear of the automatic drop and four clear of Ross County in 11th place, and could put a substantial gap between themselves and Thistle when they play at the Energy Check Stadium today.

“There is still a bit of daylight between us and the bottom two, but it’s up to us not to be complacent and think it’s all done because there is a four or five-point difference,” said the keeper.

“I think the split has worked out in a good way for us. We play them two first so if we get the results needed, it’s all-but done.”

He added: “With these five games it’s almost a mini-league and we need to make sure they don’t come into play.

“We are in the driving seat and we need to make sure it stays that way.

“They can’t really afford a defeat against us. But we are all down there for the same reason. This game is not going to come down to form, it’s who turns up on the day.”