Manager on Friday

24/09/10: JM:- "They are tight games but Partick have not had a good start, they are similar to ourselves last year. That doesn't take away from me that they are a good side.

Jim McIntyre looked forward to his second trip to Glasgow in five days:-

"Apart from the 4-1 win last season there is never much more than a goal between the teams. They are tight games but Partick have not had a good start, they are similar to ourselves last year. That doesn't take away from me that they are a good side. By all accounts they should have beaten Queens last week, they were unlucky so we will be looking to try and keep our form going in the league definitely.

"We know that Thistle away is one of the toughest away venues in the calendar so it is up to us.  We need to go and maintain what we have been doing in the league.

Acknowledging that Thistle striker, the former Cowdenbeath player, Liam Buchanan has a good scoring record against Dunfermline, the Manager said:-

"He is a good player, he knows where the goal is and he is somebody we need to keep an eye on.  We need to make sure we are defending properly.  They have other players like Simon Donnelly, Jackie McNamara, Alan Archibald and David Rowson - they are a team packed with experience.  They have Maxwell, Robertson and Kinniburgh at the back, these are all boys who have played a lot of football.

"I have worked with Ian McCall and I know that he is a good manager, he will get that team up the league, there is no doubt.

This league match comes on the back the defeat at Ibrox in the Co-operative Insurance Cup.  Macca reflected on the encounter with Rangers:-

"We really tried to attack Rangers, we did do that.We had a lot of crosses into the box, several attempts at goal but we never defended properly.  That's what cost us on the night.  There were a lot of mistakes made on the night and unfortunately when you do that against the better sides you get punished.  That is something we have spoken about and have watched the video.  We need to learn from it.  It is very disappointing to lose seven goals in any game.  It hurts and it is a hard one to take.

"I have to look at the positives on the night.  That was the bravery that our players showed on the ball, when they were in possession to try and go make something happen.  I thought some of our wing play was good, Steven Bell again continued his form in being a constant threat.  We must learn from our mistakes.  Whether we had won or lost at Rangers we are back to our bread and butter against Partick.  The boys are not too downhearted or downbeat.It is back to the First Division where we need to start the games properly and win the battle.  That's what its all about.

"I have to mention the fans at Ibrox the other night.  They were absolutely magnificent, they never stopped from first to last and could be clearly heard. They were fully backing us and right behind us from the off and we were delighted with the support."

The Manager said that there were a couple of injury concerns following Tuesday nights cup tie surrounding Wullie Gibson and Joe Cardle, but on the positive side Gary Mason is back in training.  The ankle injury to Nick Phinn at Ibrox has not prevented him from training since.