In these days of uncertainty for the vast majority of footballers in Scotland, with contracts that last more than a single season becoming rarer than hen’s teeth, Partick Thistle have recently bucked the trend.
Tomas Cerny signed a two-year extension to his deal two weeks ago, while Kris Doolan tied himself to the club for a further three years.
Stevie Lawless is that curious example though of a player who insists upon a one-year contract. Footballers are notorious for citing outside factors, such as uncertainty over their future, as having a detrimental effect on their performances. Lawless though, thrives upon it, and if anyone of a cynical bent suggests that his commitment to his current employers may be in question as he leaves his options open every summer, then they only had to witness his performance for Partick Thistle against Motherwell on Tuesday night. Even leaving his fortuitous late winner aside, he was a constant menace to his former employers and a deserved recipient of the man-of-the-match award.
If speculation over his future amid reported interest from Dundee United was indeed affecting him, then it certainly didn’t show.
He said: “I will just take it as it goes. I’m just concentrating on Thistle but I have been on a one-year contract every year I have been here so this is no different. I just prefer it that way.
“I’m just taking it game by game because if I start concentrating on what will happen in the summer it might affect my performances and the team so that’s the last thing I want.
“I did this years ago at Motherwell. I had a year left on my contract and it pushed me on to get another one. So it’s not bad thing because if you’re doing really well then you can get a move or something might come up.
“I’ve done it for years so we’ll just see how it goes.”
The importance of Lawless’s late deflected goal against Motherwell can hardly be overstated, giving Partick Thistle what must surely be an insurmountable fifteen-point lead over Dundee United at the bottom of the Premiership.
It also moved them four points clear of Kilmarnock in the play-off position with two games in hand over the struggling Ayrshire side, and putting further daylight between the sides is now Lawless’s main focus.
“It looked as though it was going to finish goalless so it was great to get a last-minute winner. It’s three vital points for us.
“It was good to get that bit of luck because usually it goes against us as it has done for the last couple of years.
“I can’t really put my finger on it but I think we have wizened up a bit and know how to see out the game and manage it.
“We knew before the game how big it was going to be because of how close Motherwell were, so the win puts us in a good position and hopefully we can kick on,
“It was a scrappy game and to win it the way we did made it enjoyable because if it had finished nothing each then it makes you depressed about football. But there was obviously a great atmosphere in the dressing room the way things turned out
“It was nice to get it because it’s been coming for a while. I had a couple of chances in the first half – one went just past the post and I won’t talk about the one that nearly went out for a throw-in.
“We're in a good position but it’s by no means the job done. We have two games in hand on Kilmarnock but we have to make them count by taking points from them.
“We know how tight it is. If Motherwell had got an equaliser then it would have been a different story.
“Hopefully we can put a run together and forget about the teams below us.”
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