Kris Doolan clocked up his 400th Partick Thistle appearance in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Ayr United but has insists that there is plenty more still to come from him.
The 33-year-old forward has been at Thistle for a decade and has no plans to think of slowing down just yet.
“I’ve still got plenty of life left in me yet,” said Doolan. “I’m not happy just to get to 400 and stop. I’ll try and get as many games with this club as I can. It’s amazing how quickly a career in football can go past you.
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“You have to enjoy every single game and certainly for me I’ve enjoyed all 400 games I’ve played at this club because it’s a great club to play for. I’m no happier than when I’m out there playing for us.
“To play 400 games at any club at any level it takes a lot of doing, a lot of time and effort. I knew it was about to be so it’s great to round off 400 games with three points.”
If it was a landmark night for Doolan, it could be significant for the Thistle too. The three points taken from Ian McCall’s side – a team that Thistle hadn’t beaten all season in either domestic Cup competitions or the league – elevates Gary Caldwell’s side into a sixth-placed spot, a position that eases them away from the threat of a relegation play-off.
Thistle host Ayr on Saturday afternoon with a win effectively confirming that they have avoided the nightmare scenario of a second successive relegation. That it could come at a cost to Ian McCall’s side who are heading into a play-off promotion has not been lost on Doolan.
Signed by McCall from the junior leagues in 2009, the striker believes he will always have a debt to the current Ayr boss.
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“I’ll be thankful to Ian McCall because he’s a massive part of my career bringing me here and giving me a real chance in football,” he said. “It is probably quite ironic that we beat his team on my 400th appearance but it could have been anyone.
“I think in the big scale of things it’ll be a massive three points for us. It shows out tight things are, the fact you can win one game and rocket up the league and we’re right in amongst the teams in the middle of the pack now.”
The immediate concern for Thistle now is that they use their remaining two games to consolidate their current position.
“This league is notorious for being difficult,” said Doolan. “But from our point of view we’ve stuck together and we’ve actually been playing really well recently. It just shows that three points gives you confidence and you can rocket back up the league.
“All of a sudden you stop looking over your shoulder and start looking at the team above you. That’s the good thing about the Championship, that it is so tight so if you can get back in the mix which we are now, we can start looking at the teams above us and who we can close ground on.”
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