PARTICK THISTLE midfielder Stuart Bannigan says that supporters were right to boo the Jags off the pitch in the aftermath of their 2-0 defeat to Dundee at Dens Park that ensured Thistle will remain bottom of the Championship for at least another week.

Two first-half goals from Kane Hemmings put the hosts in the driving seat and Thistle failed to really lay a glove on their opponents - leading to the away supporters letting their feelings known in the strongest possible terms as the players trudged off the park at full-time.

"We’re bottom of the league – it’s definitely deserved," said Bannigan. "They never really saw much in terms of chances created or anything like that. We never really excited them. They pay their money so the criticism is deserved.

"They always turn out in their numbers and they have been great for us at home when things haven’t been going well. The players need to take it on the chin. We certainly haven’t done enough. The criticism is fully warranted."

Ian McCall's side will be offered some respite from their poor league campaign next week when they host Raith Rovers in the semi-finals of the Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Cup on Friday night. And while Bannigan accepts that a win could bring some much-needed positivity to Firhill, he would much prefer to be in league action to try and solve the club's relegation predicament.

"I’d rather play a league game to be honest to try and get back to winning ways," he said. "It’s a semi-final, a chance to reach a final and to get a positive attitude back around the place. But I’d much rather be playing a league game."

After the final whistle on Saturday, McCall insisted that Thistle's goal for the remainder of the campaign should be to simply survive in Scotland's second tier. Bannigan unequivocally agrees with his manager.

"We probably shouldn’t have been talking about anything else, really," he added. "When you look at the league table now, we’re right down there at the bottom and we’re a bit stranded. We’re going to need results to go our way and we’ll try and get a run of wins to get us up the table."

Hemmings, meanwhile, took the opportunity after the match to thank James McPake and his coaching staff at Dundee for their support after a few weeks where the striker was dealing with private off-field matters.

"I want to thank the manager for the last few weeks," Hemmings said. "Away from football, it has been a bit tough for me so I want to thank the manager and the coaching staff for rallying around me because it could have easily went another way.

"I want to thank them publicly and hopefully I can keep on repaying them. It’s been a tough couple of weeks and [McPake] has been brilliant with me."