IAN McCALL is ‘very relaxed’ about the future of Scott Tiffoney as the Partick Thistle manager named his price for the winger.
The 23-year-old was signed initially on loan for the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign and played a crucial role in the Jags’ League One title triumph, providing seven goals and four assists in 13 outings.
The move was made permanent last summer and Tiffoney enjoyed a fine campaign in the second tier, with his performances recognised in the form of a PFA Championship Player of the Year nomination.
There are concerns amongst supporters that those displays will be attracting covetous glances from top-flight rivals with the transfer window looming, and Tiffoney didn’t exactly assuage them when he handed over his shirt and waved repeatedly to the travelling away fans after the final whistle on Thistle’s last game of the season against Inverness.
However, McCall is confident the inside forward will remain a Jags player when the new campaign kicks off, following a conversation with the player’s agent last week.
“There is nothing on the table and I am very relaxed about it all,” McCall said of the supposed interest in Tiffoney. "He’s not averse to signing a new contract but it will have to be within budget.
“We might try and increase one or two of the contracts but obviously his would need to be a financial increase because he has done so well.”
In many ways, Tiffoney’s form over the course of the campaign was emblematic of his team’s performances. Over the first two-thirds or so of the campaign, he was at his electric best as he danced past opponents at will. As time wore on and the surface at Firhill deteriorated, Tiffoney’s influence waned and the team’s title charge fizzled out.
McCall continued: “I think the pitch affected him, there’s no doubt about that. It affected his hamstring, it affected his confidence but there’s no getting away from the fact that in the first two thirds of the season he was absolutely dynamite.
“I think there is a realisation from his agent that last season was the first time he’s been a regular anywhere, which surprises me.
“So I think he’s perfectly happy and he wants to stay. But this is football: if A, B or C come in and offer a suitable amount of money then the board will have a decision to make.
“As for a suitable amount, I would say a couple hundred thousand with significant add-ons but there is nothing just now.”
Like the rest of the playing squad, Tiffoney is enjoying some well-earned downtime now that the season has ended but that hasn’t stopped him from keeping in touch with his manager.
McCall remains hard at work as he prepares for the new campaign and he believes the former Livingston and Morton winger can improve further still.
“He keeps sending me texts; pictures from Ibiza,” McCall smiled. “I fully expect him to be back and his target is to be even better next season – which is a big target for him.”
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