ALAN ROUGH hopes that Partick Thistle can go all the way and achieve back-to-back promotions this term – following on from their painful enforced demotion at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
The Jags were controversially relegated to third tier on a points-per-game basis after Covid wreaked havoc with the fixture schedule but the 1971 League Cup winner hopes his old side can bounce back in the best possible fashion – by mirroring the back-to-back promotions achieved by former Thistle boss John Lambie between 2000 and 2002.
“It’s fantastic that Thistle are back in the Championship and their performance when they won 3-0 at Dunfermline on Saturday was absolutely amazing,” said Rough, speaking at the launch of Thistle's programme of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of their famous Scottish League Cup victory. “If they can continue to play like that this season, it’ll be great.
“They have a good side and they’ve knitted together now. They fell suddenly from top six in the Premiership to the third tier in just a couple of years but that can happen to any club: it’s about how quickly you can redress that and I think we’ve done that by bringing in a better quality of player.
“Everyone was hurting [from relegation] – not just the manager and the players but the supporters as well. The good thing about it was that the majority of people recognised that it had been an injustice but fair dos to Ian McCall and the team because you’ve got to be able to put that aside and concentrate on getting back to where you were.”
Rough expects the upcoming second-tier campaign to be closer than in recent years due to the lack of a heavy hitter in the Championship – adding that in Ian McCall, Thistle fans have an experienced operator that boasts a wealth of experience in this division.
“It is [more open] but it’s still strong, with Kilmarnock and Hamilton dropping down,” Rough reasoned. “I think there are going to be a lot of strange results, particularly away from home because clubs are going to travel to places like Firhill thinking they’re just as good as you and they’ll be trying to win the games. That’s good for us because we’ll need to battle.
“Then again, Ian McCall knows this division as well as anyone and he has the track record to back that up. He also gives young players a chance and fans love to see home-bred academy boys coming through and Ian isn’t frightened to put them in.
“In fact, we have so many talented kids coming through that I think he’s had to put some of them out on loan, which is a good sign. The last time Thistle won the third tier they managed to win back-to-back promotions and it would be fabulous if they could do that again, particularly this year with all of the 50th anniversary celebrations. That would be ideal.”
Jags fans can purchase from a range of 1971 commemorative packages at www.ptfc.co.uk/shop.
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