IAN McCALL has vowed to entertain the home support at Firhill in the upcoming campaign as the Partick Thistle manager conceded that the deterioration of the playing surface in Maryhill last term left him feeling like he owes fans.
The groundshare with Queen’s Park had a telling effect on the pitch as the campaign wore on as the turf struggled with the sheer number of games being played on it. It has since been torn up and work is under way to lay a new surface before the new season kicks off, and the Jags board have learned a valuable lesson.
Firhill will be the home solely of the Championship club for the time being and the prospect of another groundshare happening anytime soon seems very remote indeed. And after a few months of pretty turgid fayre served up for match-going supporters during the second half of the campaign, McCall is determined to make things right with fans with free-flowing football after the summer as he discussed his tactical plans for the new campaign.
“The team’s shape will probably change with the pitch,” McCall explained. “I feel strongly that we owe our home supporters.
“Even the games we won, it wasn’t great viewing to be honest – as opposed to the first half of the season when there was a lot of good stuff played. We owe them at least two or three months of really good football.
“We will change to a formation that I know really well and we will change it around – I wouldn’t rule out going three at the back towards the end of the season. It will be very positive. 4-4-1-1 works but I like 4-3-3, I like the interaction of all, the pivoting of it all.
“I think that’s the type of thing we will play. Nothing is set in stone but I think when our season ticket holders come to games they will be entertained. It might not work all the time and we might not win every game but we will try to do that.”
The Glasgow club’s annual drive to sell season tickets is well and truly under way and McCall is front and centre of the queue. The Jags boss will be dipping into his own pocket to buy four tickets – two for his son, and two for a pair of fans who can’t afford their own – and he hopes that plenty of fans will follow suit.
“It’s crucial,” McCall said of the season ticket drive. “I’ll get my son a couple and I’ll buy two to give to someone who can’t afford it.
“It is really, really crucial. Last season it was like a Thistle call to arms but with the way we finished the season and won the title, there was a really good feeling about. We had a good season this year, we finished top four and we have a squad of players that is very different to the one we had two-and-a-half years ago, but it makes a huge difference.
“If we can get even one more season ticket than last season it would be fantastic and it makes a big difference to me and the club. It helps us get a competitive team on the pitch and ultimately our supporters don’t want us to finish fourth; they want us to finish first, second or third. That won’t be easy but that would be another good season. And doing a bit better in the cups.”
Partick Thistle season tickets for the upcoming 2022/23 campaign are on sale now - with prices frozen. To purchase your Thistle season ticket visit www.ptfc.co.uk/season-tickets.
