Adam Strachan tried hard to keep the smile from his face as he stepped in to have a chat to the media throng. However, he failed miserably.

That the young Partick Thistle player has talent is not open to debate, the problem materialises for Strachan when he is asked to filter out other distractions in life and concentrate on the task on hand.

Managers have come and gone at Firhill and your man has played his part from time to time, but dedication, at Strachan's admittance, has been slightly limited. That said, if his latest utterances are adhered to by the guy himself, he could light up Maryhill in the dark, winter days that lie ahead.

Strachan inflicted mortal wounds to Livingston's cause with two first-half goals, and when Liam Buchanan added a third, it was time for the home supporters to burst into rapturous song. The team in red and yellow had completed the job in hand efficiently and thoroughly, a situation Thistle's paying customers had not experienced for ages.

When it was almost time to go home, Strachan appeared. He seemed different from other meetings. He looked focused, thoughtful, interested in what was going on around him, traits that have, in some instances, been hard to discover.

He is aware of the score, so to speak. "I know it will be hard for me this year," he said. "There are a lot of others competing in my position, so I know I have to do well, week in, week out."

Strachan added that Ian McCall, the Thistle manager, had asked him to go out and show what he can do.

Two goals and a thoroughly decent performance possibly did the trick.

Under the stewardship of Dick Campbell, Strachan believed he was in something of a rut. "I didn't get on with the old gaffer," he said, "and I carried on a wee bit, so it was partly my fault but, hopefully, this season I can put my head down and get on with it."

There are far too many individuals being paid handsomely to kick footballs around on a Saturday who were at the rear of the queue when skill was being liberally dispensed. This situation does not apply to Strachan, and Thistle's clientele will have everything crossed that the young man concentrates on the job in hand and continues to give them something to smile about.