Mark Roberts Free to Leave Firhill
Monday 19th January 2009
Earlier today Mark Roberts was granted permission to leave Partick Thistle for another club.
Said manager Ian McCall;
"Mark Roberts has been a tremendous servant to Partick Thistle and the Club owe him a massive debt of gratitude for his contribution to Thistle in his years at Firhill. In telling Mark that he is free to leave should he find another Club it is in part an acknowledgement of that contribution. Mark wouldn't have been getting his contract at Firhill renewed at the end of the season anyway nor can I guarantee him a place in the first team for the remainder of the season."
"Mark I feel still has something to offer as a player and any club that do sign him will have a real asset in him. I've worked with Mark both here at Firhill and elsewhere and knowing the kind of guy that he is I know that if he doesn't move before the end of January he will still give 100% for Partick Thistle when required."
Mark joined Thistle early on in the 2005/2006 season by the then Thistle manager Dick Campbell and marked his Thistle debut by scoring twice in a 3-2 win over Dumbarton.
In his first season as a Thistle player he netted 20+ goals becoming the first Thistle player to do so for many a long year. Included in that tally of goals were vital strikes against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup and no fewer than 4 in the play-off fixtures that eventually saw Thistle promoted back to the First Division.
Mark finished the following season as Thistle's leading goal scorer once more and to date from 132 appearances he has scored 47 times for Thistle.
