Partick Thistle Football Club

Gary Harkins has today became a Dundee player.

Speaking to www.ptfc.co.uk Club Chair Allan Cowan provided some background to the deal;

“The deal is worth around £150,000 plus a percentage of any transfer fee Dundee receives should Gary re sign for another club during his contract. We are extremely disappointed to lose Gary and we did everything we could to extend his contract on improved terms. When it became clear this was not going to happen we entered into lengthy negotiations. We did get an increase on the original fee first offered. Gary did a fantastic job for the club and we wish him all the best for the future.”

A man who has played a huge part in Gary’s development as a player in the last two years is manager Ian McCall and he is naturally disappointed to have lost the services of a player with whom he had become close to.

“From a professional point of view this is probably a good deal for Partick Thistle given that it became clear to us that he wasn’t going to sign an extension to his current contract here at Firhill. The harsh financial realities of football at present are such that we didn’t want to see him leave Firhill for nothing.”  

“On a personal level I’m gutted to see Gary leave Partick Thistle. As I would like to think I am with all the players at the Club I’m very close to Gary. When he arrived at Firhill in the summer of 2007 he wasn’t in great condition physically but in the time since then he has developed into a really exciting talent. I think Gary himself would be very quick to acknowledge the role that we have played in his development as a footballer. I know his decision to leave Partick Thistle was not an easy one for him to make and was, in fact, quite an emotional one for him. Indeed had we been in a position to match, or even come close, to what Dundee were offering him then I think that he would have signed an extension.”

“With the physique and talent that Gary has I believe that if he continues to develop as a player then he has a chance to play at a much higher level and that’s why I was very keen for there to be sell on clause included in our deal with Dundee. We could, therefore, still receive more money for Gary in time.”

“Finally, I’m disappointed that our supporters won’t be seeing Gary in a Thistle jersey next season. They can rest assured, however, that we will be working hard in the attempt to bring players of his calibre and potential to Partick Thistle.”

As he left Firhill Gary had this message for all associated with Partick Thistle;

“I’m gutted to be leaving, it has been a great two years at Thistle. I would just like to say a huge thank you to all the coaching staff, players, Directors and backroom staff for all their support and help over the past couple of years. I would also like to thank the Thistle fans who have been tremendous to me since I arrived at the Club.”

Meantime preparations continue ahead of the start of the 2009/2010 season and on Saturday Thistle get their first taste of pre-season action with a close door friendly match.