Abdul Osman says that Partick Thistle cannot afford to rest on their laurels after their 5-2 demolition of Kilmarnock at the weekend.

The Firhill side have turned their season around of late, picking up four wins, two draws and just a solitary defeat in their last seven matches.

The impressive run of form has seen them climb off the bottom of the table into ninth place, but with a crucial game against tenth-placed Motherwell to come on Saturday, the Partick Thistle captain is urging his teammates not to lose their focus.

He said: “We need to maintain our intensity. This is when we need to kick on the most, because when you’re losing it can be hard to see where the next win is coming from.

“When you’re winning you’ve got to keep up the performance levels and make sure that you don’t relax on it and take it for granted.

“The performance at the weekend from the lads was good, and hopefully now we can push even further up the table. I always knew something like that was coming. I’ve been saying all season that when we play well, there aren’t a lot of teams in the league that can deal with us.

“Consistency has been our problem, but we’re working on that on the training field and hopefully we can maintain that level. It’s just been hard work and believing in what we can do that has turned things around.

“Last year we showed that we can battle with most of the teams in the league. This year it was slow to get going, but there’s still a long way to go and if we can keep up the consistency then we’ll be alright. Me personally, I’m quite ambitious, so I think we can still make the top six as long as we sharpen up on our consistency. As a squad we believe in what we’ve got.

“It’s much easier to be captain when you’re winning. Throughout the whole season though I know I need to keep geeing the boys on, because I know that when we play at our best then we’re a quality side.”

Osman says that another key factor in his side’s recent turnaround has been the depth of the squad now available to manager Alan Archibald.

The contribution of the likes of Gary Fraser and Robbie Muirhead against Kilmarnock, players who have been far from regulars so far this season, has particularly pleased the team captain.

Another bonus has been the recent prolific form of Kris Doolan, with three goals in his last two games since fighting his way back into the side ahead of Mathias Pogba.

“As you saw on Saturday, even the bench was really strong and there were players there that could easily have started the game,” he said.

“That always helps, it keeps everybody on their toes and it’s a sign of how healthy a squad we have.

“I’m happy for Robbie because since he’s come in it hasn’t really happened for him, but in training he shows glimpses and he’s shooting like that all the time, and it’s great for him that it’s worked this week.

“And we all know what Kris is like, he’s just a goalscorer. Every time he’s one-on-one with the keeper you just know that nine times out of ten he’s going to put it away.

“The Motherwell game is one we’re going into thinking that we can win, especially in front of our own supporters. We’ve got a good record against Motherwell at home, so we’ll be going into it full of confidence.”