Partick Thistle Football Club

Earlier this afternoon Partick Thistle Football Club were delighted to confirm the news that Ian McCall had signed a three year extension to his contract at Firhill.

At a well attended Firhill Press Conference Club Chair Allan Cowan commented;

"I don't think that there has ever been a summer with so much managerial speculation and we are delighted that with Ian McCall signing a three year extension to his contract that much of that speculation surrounding our manager has been removed. The deal was actually concluded last night in my kitchen."

"In signing a new three year deal it allows Ian to continue to progress the good work that he has already started in the last two years both on the first team front and with the youth teams. The fact that Ian has recently been linked with so many jobs just underlines how highly rated Ian is as a manager. We hope that our supporters see this as evidence of the ambition we have for Partick Thistle and that is reflected in season ticket sales."

It was the manager that was the man of the moment with the usual, almost never ending, round of media commitments. www.ptfc.co.uk was though finally able to catch up with the Thistle manager.

 Said Ian;

 "One thing that I am really keen to stress is that I have not signed an extension as manager of Partick Thistle because I live in the West End of Glasgow and it is cushy number for me. Quite the reverse. I have a burning desire to do well here and make Partick Thistle successful. I would like to help rid Partick Thistle of the ‘cuddly toy' tag that we have been labelled with and the only way to do that it by performances on the park and by creating a strong club with a decent infrastructure."

"I've not signed this contract on the strength of recent press speculation. I've no idea whether I would have been offered another job our not. This is something that has been in the offing for about 6 weeks now. Nor is this a decision that is based on money. I moved clubs once on the basis of money and I ended up getting my fingers burned."

"I think that last season we had 5 or 6 very good footballers and a fantastic team spirit which can take you a long way but I don't think we were a great team. When you finish second in the league though there is a natural rise in the level of expectation and the feeling that you should go one better the following season. That is naturally the aim of all at Partick Thistle. We want to get back to the SPL but not as a yo-yo Club. We want to establish Partick Thistle as a permanent feature of the SPL."

"Doing so will not be an easy task and next season will be really tough. Dundee look to be linked to just about every First Division player at present but they can only put eleven on the pitch at the one time. I'm confident that if we have our best team on the park then we are more than capable to challenging at the top of the league next season."

"It's important, therefore, that we hold on to those players that are currently interesting other clubs. It is widely reported that Dundee are interested in Gary Harkins but we are desperately keen to keep him as Partick Thistle player for at least another season. We are looking to extend the contracts of our key players not sell them. I hope the fact that I have shown my commitment to Partick Thistle by signing a new three year deal will be enough for these players to also make a commitment to Partick Thistle Football Club."

"I hope too that the Thistle supporters, who have been fantastic with me since the moment I walked through the door, can show a commitment to the Club as well. The sale of even an extra 500 season tickets can make a huge difference to the budget made available to me."

"The Board of Directors know what I am looking for and they are being supportive as they can to help me with that, as they have been since I came to the Club. It's a difficult time for everyone at present though and just about every club is a bit wary financially and are having to be prudent. That's why having a good youth structure at the Club is very important. As is having a good scouting network. We presently have 5 scouts but in an ideal world we would have about 20. That shows that there is still much to do to take Partick Thistle to the level that we all want."