KENNY MILLER was left to rue the fine margins that often decide games in the aftermath of Thistle’s 1-0 defeat to Dundee at Firhill.
The striker thought he had opened the scoring on Saturday afternoon when his effort at goal crashed off the underside of the bar and was later denied an equaliser after an excellent stop from Dundee goalkeeper Jack Hamilton.
And while Miller accepts that the Jags’ form has improved under new manager Ian McCall, he insists that the club should be doing better.
“It’s an understatement to say we’re frustrated,” he said. “I don’t think there was a lot in the game.
READ MORE: Partick Thistle's James Penrice edges closer to new deal
“I find that the first goal is crucial at the minute. It was frustrating, we huffed and puffed in the second half. I thought there were positives we could take but a lot of negatives as well. It was just one of those days where things never fell for us in front of goal.
“It’s one of those where you take two sets forward and one step back. We got two decent wins. I feel the games are pretty similar. We got a couple of late goals down at Queens and we scored last week.
“Once we get our nose in front, particularly against certain teams like Inverness, we have looked really dangerous on the counter-attack. Against Inverness we could have got four or five.
“Ultimately we have not put anywhere near enough points on board this season. I feel we could be doing an awful lot more.
“We have good players in that dressing room. Had we won against Dundee we could then start looking upwards and that is when you look at the two or three teams that are above you. But you need to win games
“A win and a draw and a loss or two wins and a loss is not going to do it. For the start that we have had and the amount of ground that we have got to make up, it's not enough. We have had two tough home games - Inverness and Dundee who are up at the top of the league - but I don't know if we didn't do enough to lose.”
Despite the defeat at the weekend, Miller has something to look forward to. Today marks the former Rangers striker’s 40th birthday, although Miller was adamant that he remains fit and firing.
READ MORE: Plenty of huff and puff, but too little guile for McCall
“Physically I feel good. It is the mental side of it that takes the hit these days, especially after frustrating afternoons like Saturday,” he said. “I feel great and I feel physically able. I've got at least half a season left!
“I want to play and do the right thing and I want to help bring a level of success to the team. Sometimes on counter attacks you feel yourself coming back to help out but I'd rather be up the field getting goals.
“[My birthday] will be quiet unless there are any surprises! I’ll be out for some dinner and a glass of wine. The manager has given me Monday off which is nice and then we're back in on Tuesday."
Meanwhile, Dundee goalscorer Paul McGowan admits he was relieved not to be booked for his celebration on Saturday – the midfielder cupped his ears to the home support – after referee Bobby Madden joked he was going to show him a yellow.
“I was getting a bit of stick from the Thistle fans so it shut them up a wee bit,” McGowan said. “[Madden] said: ‘I’m going to book you Gowzer’. I said: ‘What?’ But then he said he was only joking. He’s actually one of the better referees and I felt he had a good game. It’s nice to get a bit of banter with referees - and it’s not often you can say that.
“To be fair, I’ve not ran off the pitch and I did that [ears cupped] to my own fans. I can see his point… I’m not sticking up for him! He’ll probably get stick – he deserves it!”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here