Wilson relishing challenge as big games come thick and fast for Thistle

The big games keep coming thick and fast for Partick Thistle. But head coach Mark Wilson would not have it any other way.

The Jags make the long journey north to the Highlands this evening to take on Inverness, eager to seize the opportunity to make it three wins out of three in the Championship and to open up a five-point gap at the top of the table (for a day, at least).

Scott Kellacher’s League One champions stand in Thistle’s way tonight, and Wilson – who expects the Caley Jags to be challenging at the top end of the table when all is said and done this season – knows that his players will need to rise to the occasion to claim all three points.

Thistle have already defeated local rivals Greenock Morton and recently relegated Livingston on league duty this term before narrowly losing out to Hibernian in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup last weekend, but Wilson believes the tricky run of fixtures to kick-start the campaign is actually a blessing in disguise.

“I think we’ve been lucky in terms of the start of the season,” he said. “There’s not been a lot of easy games.

“But on the road, first and foremost, it’s always a well-attended game away to Morton. It’s a kind of derby for us, so there’s real importance in that. Followed by Livi, which everyone has classed as two [title] favourites, live on TV. Followed by Hibs, a big game, and this is another big game as well.

“Inverness will be right up there this season, and it’s live on TV. So it’s big game after big game after big game for us, and I think our players, that’s the environment you want to play in – that every game has got that importance, and that kind of drives you on. So we’re really looking forward to it again, but it’s up to us to turn up and perform, and I hope that’s maximum points.”

That promise of big games, Wilson adds, ended up being a rather hefty carrot that the club could dangle in front of transfer targets over the summer.

He continued: “I think when you saw the momentum gathering at the tail end of the season, and you end up finding yourself on the BBC more often than not, you think, ‘This is great because this is the environment you want to be in as a player’.

“I went from Dundee United, where one game every two months or something was televised, to Celtic, to every game being televised. You just felt in the prestige surrounding it.

“When we found ourselves at that level at the tail end of last season, I don’t doubt that attracted players to come and sign for us because they saw the colour and the atmosphere and the live televised games, and the importance of them. I think it’s really given them that drive to be part of a club like ours, that this is what comes with the ticket.

“So I’m quite fortunate that we’ve had this start to the season. We’ve embraced it. I think some people would maybe moan about it and say, ‘Oh jeez, we’ve not had many easy games here’. I keep saying there aren’t many easy games in the Championship, but these big ones I like being involved in.

“Each one’s thrown up a different challenge for me. So it gets my thinking cap on, and I can’t rest on things too much before I’m thinking of the next one. And Inverness is certainly a challenge for us.”

• McFarlane hoping to put himself in frame for Scotland by starring for Thistle

• Missing killer instinct and no penalty complaints: Wilson on Hibs defeat

• ‘I texted them every day!’: Watt on his role in convincing key Jags players to re-sign

Wilson added: “This Inverness team, I think they’re quite pleasing on the eye. I think they’re well coached. I think they’ve got good athleticism in their team, and they’ve got a wee bit of guile and craft.

“They have all the components to make up a real strong challenger in this Championship division. And coming off the back of the success they had last year as well, it just gives you broader shoulders.

“We’ve pointed out all the dangers, all the threats, that they could bring to the boys and painted a picture that it isn’t going to be any easier than what Easter Road was last week.

“I think Easter Road was a good gauge for us. Almost a good game in setting up what’s to come [tonight]. But we showed the quality against a Hibs side when we’ve got the ball and it’s important that we show the best side of ourselves [tonight] as well when we’ve got possession.”

Club captain Lee Ashcroft and summer signing Euan Henderson will both sit out tonight’s fixture, with the game coming too soon for either player as they recover from their respective injuries. There was good news on the Gary Mackay-Steven front however, with the veteran winger back in the frame to feature after missing Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Easter Road.

“Euan Henderson’s still taking care of that wee strain he had in his hamstring,” Wilson explained. “Lee Ashcroft is not quite back yet but is back on the pitch, but not quite in time for the game. Everybody else is fine.

“Gary Mackay-Steven had a wee strain with his groin last Sunday, so we didn’t think it was worth the risk. But he’s back with us, so that gives us a wee bit more strength in the wide areas. Everybody’s looking forward to it.”

Thistle’s League Cup exit at the hands of Hibs last weekend naturally stung supporters, but Wilson believes the players can take great encouragement from the manner in which they went toe-to-toe with one of Scottish football’s top teams. The result may not have fallen in the Jags’ favour, but the manager saw plenty of positives in his team’s performance.

“It was a disappointment for me right after the game, of course, because it’s a cup tie and you’re out,” Wilson admitted. “I loved being part of the latter stages of the competition last year, so that’s the first emotion.

“When you go and you see how we competed and how we took the game to Hibs, of course we can take confidence from that because Hibs are a top side who are playing in Europe. Alex Rae reminded the boys of that right after the game, saying, ‘This is a team that are playing European football and you’ve went and controlled a lot of that game’.

“I think individually as well, a player would take confidence coming up against an opponent who is playing European football or they’ve played a large part of their career in the Premiership. We parked it at the start of the week, and we have to prepare for an equally tough challenge at a ground that’s been hard for teams to go there and win.”

Share