PARTICK THISTLE will be without the services of Scott Tiffoney for tomorrow’s trip to Gayfield as the Jags aim for back-to-back wins over Arbroath.
Aidan Fitzpatrick’s late header sealed a win for the men from Maryhill at Firhill on Tuesday night in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup, teeing up a quarter-final at Pittodrie next month.
Thistle travel to Angus this weekend, this time on league duty, and manager Ian McCall believes that the weather conditions on the day will inform his team selection – but one man who will play no part is Tiffoney.
“On Tuesday you saw they had a great spirit and it isn’t easy there,” said McCall, who did not bring in any late additions as the transfer window closed last night.
“The weather is lovely but I fear it will be dodgy on Saturday afternoon up there. I probably won’t name the team until we see the conditions and then we will go from there.
“I was happy with the squad we had. If we had drawn Ibrox or Celtic Park [in the League Cup] we might have added, but we are pleased.
“Scott Tiffoney was caught late in a tackle and he went over on his ankle. He is in a boot as he was sore the following day. He is going for a scan but we are hoping he will only be out for a week or so.”
“We are playing well and we have some momentum,” he added. “Most players are fit and long may that continue, now it is a matter of keeping that going as long as possible.”
One player who will be vying for a place in McCall’s starting XI is goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon, who has been playing second fiddle to summer signing David Mitchell during the season’s opening exchanges.
The 24-year-old was voted as the Championship club’s Player of the Year last term and his manager insists that he is knocking on the door of a place in the first team.
“He was Player of the Year last season and he is training really well,” McCall said. “He is unlucky not to be in the team – as is Aidan Fitzpatrick and Kyle Turner.
“When you are playing at a club that is trying to do things there is going to be competition. He did well last season, he had one or two hiccups, but so did guys outfield. We rate him highly and when he gets his chance he has to take it.”
The midweek win over Arbroath brought ended a hoodoo for the Jags – prior to Tuesday night, Thistle had not defeated the Red Lichties in the last nine meetings between the sides in a period spanning 21 years – but McCall does not think that the result gives his team the upper hand going into the fixture, nor does he believe that playing the same team twice in a row has any tangible benefits.
“I don’t think there is any benefit for either team and I don’t think anyone enjoys that,” he said. “We play each other enough in the league that you are better not drawing teams from your league in the cups.
“By Saturday it will be another league game we both look to win and Tuesday won’t impact it. Dick is trying to bring in a few new faces so their team might be different and, depending on the conditions, so might ours.”
Thistle are potentially just 90 minutes away from bringing another unwanted record to a close after being drawn away to Aberdeen in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup. It has been two decades since the Jags last graced the Hampden turf as semi-finalists in one of the domestic cup competitions – although McCall insists that whatever happens, he won’t be leading the team out at the national stadium.
“The draw could have been kinder and we could have been at home where we would have fancied our chances against anyone outside the Old Firm,” he explained. “Financially it is good for the club but it is a tough game, although it’s one we are capable of winning.
“Jim [Goodwin] is trying to turn it around, he has signed a few players and they have started the season well. There will be a big crowd, especially if both teams keep winning until then.
“Historically it is a competition Aberdeen believe they can win and from 1971 we can as well. It’s not a day out for us, we are going there to win and Jim will be the same.
“If we get to Hampden I will let [assistants] Alan [Archibald] or [Neil] Scally lead the team out as I would need to put a suit on!
“Tuesday was harder than it should have been, Arbroath worked their socks off and they had injuries but we merited it. We have to put it on the back burner and focus on the league.”
