FAIRYTALE RUN
Centurion Doolan is Thistle’s main man
THE legacy is now secure for Kris Doolan. Forever more, he shall be a cherished part of Partick Thistle’s history, feted on his return to Firhill, a lifelong favourite of the younger fans who have watched him cross the 100-goal barrier for the club.
It is only correct that Doolan was the focus of attention after scoring twice whilst wearing the armband following Abdul Osman’s first-half injury to take his tally to 101 in 312 appearances, see off Ross County and put the Maryhill Magyars ever closer to securing a top-six finish for the first time since the 33-game split was introduced.
That is where the story currently being written by the manager Alan Archibald comes in, though. Already the top flight’s longest-serving manager, he has come a long way since taking over from Jackie McNamara in January 2013.
The opportunity to leave for Shrewsbury Town presented itself last October, right in the middle of a pretty dreadful run of results, but he expressed the desire to dig in and attend to ‘unfinished business’ rather than push for an escape route to England’s League One.
Would a top-six finish signal the culmination of the project and offer the freedom to explore his ambitions south of the border? Much of that depends on circumstance and opportunity, of course, but a recent run of just two defeats in 12 games has put Thistle in a great position ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Celtic Park that would have been much healthier were it not for the concession of last-gasp goals to Inverness Caley Thistle and Kilmarnock in recent weeks.
Given the budgets in place, Thistle cannot, realistically, aim much higher than a top-six finish in terms of league business — even though they are only four points off fifth-placed Hearts at the moment. The current side is almost certainly the best team they have had in quite some time with a pleasing variation of player within it.
A season completed in the company of the Premiership haves rather than the have-nots might seem a decent way for Archibald to bow out. Stevie Lawless watched him make the transition from dressing room to technical area and believes his legacy is already in place.
From his point of view, Archibald’s credentials were rubberstamped within his first few months as boss as he took the club out of the First Division after seven years, hauling back an eight-point deficit on league leaders Morton and masterminding a great, unbeaten run.
‘I think he already has one (a legacy),’ said Lawless.
‘For anyone to walk into a job eight points behind Morton with your first game at Morton, it is going to be difficult.
‘But he put us on a good run and got us up. I think this is the longest spell for some time that Thistle have been in this division, so I think he already has achieved something.’
There are certainly players worth paying to watch at Firhill. In midfield, Osman is a strong defensive midfielder, ably assisted by the impressive Adam Barton. Ryan Edwards is going from strength to strength, as his Australia call-up suggests, and Chris Erskine, although dreadful against Ross County, can always deliver something.
Of course, buying centreforwards on a budget is difficult. Mathias Pogba was never the answer. Neither is Ade Azeez. Mercifully, it is where the dependability of Doolan, brought in from Auchinleck Talbot in January 2009 and now with 12 for the current season, has been a major asset.
‘He knows his game and he is not going to chase into the channels,’ said Lawless. ‘It is all about getting good supply into his feet.
‘Not many forwards in the game score 100 goals, especially for the same club. It is a great achievement.’
His goals were certainly crucial here. After seeing Marcus Fraser hit the post in the first half, Ross County looked in a strong position when Craig Curran put them ahead.
They’d had three separate penalty claims turned down in the first half by Willie Collum with visiting manager Jim McIntyre convinced a 21st-minute tug by Liam Lindsay on Alex Schalk was a stonewaller.
Thistle always sensed it was going to be ‘April Dools Day’, though.