Thistle have taken root in the SPFL Premiership.
It has given the club a greater sense of stability during the early weeks of the new campaign, with Steven Lawless confident that the Firhill side can thrive, rather than merely survive, in the top flight this term. They have played twice in the league so far, playing with conviction in both matches.
They learned the ropes last season. Alan Archibald's side had finished 10th on their return to the top flight as they impressed with a series of eye-catching performances. But, while Thistle achieved their main aim of retaining their Premiership place, they were still left thinking what might have been as a deserved higher league finish narrowly evaded them.
Thistle have taken four points from games against Ross County and Dundee and head into their meeting with Hamilton Academical today in high spirits. "Last year we were naive. When we were playing well, we were still trying to do things. Aberdeen, for example, are a lot wiser," said Thistle midfielder Lawless.
"That is the main thing from last year; we weren't killing games and taking the sting out of it. Hopefully we can do that more this year and pick up more points. We threw away a lot last year.
"The manager was telling us to be more street-wise. We did do some stupid things last year. We should have taken the ball into the corner and we were having a shot and the opposition has broken and put us under pressure.
"We are a year older now, we know what to expect in this league and it is about trying to learn from our mistakes of last year. A lot of teams took advantage of it against us last year. I don't know if Hamilton will be the same but, if they are, hopefully we can take advantage."
Despite key players Aaron Taylor-Sinclair and Lyle Taylor no longer in the squad, Thistle have made a solid start to the campaign as Archibald's latest recruits - Ryan Stevenson, Abdul Osman and Daniel Seabourne - have all impressed. The Thistle manager remains on the lookout for some more reinforcements before the end of the transfer window too, although Lawless is confident that his side can set their sights on a lofty league finish already.
"If we turn up and play the way we have been we can beat everyone in this league," he said. "As long as we perform, that is the most important thing. We want to put on a show at home and get as many points as we can. We can take a lot of encouragement from last year.
"We were only 10 minutes away from finishing seventh. That is how tight it was. Hopefully we can sort out the problems from last year when we were throwing points away. We dominated most games. If we can turn that into points then I don't see why we can't be up there in the top six."
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