Partick Thistle Preparations Underway

Jul 6, 2016 | Junior Section

Glasgow side Partick Thistle will be lining up again at Super Cup NI in just a few weeks time. With the senior team enjoying a continued spell in the Scottish Premier League, we caught up with Academy Director Gerry Britton to find out how preparations were going ahead of their trip to Northern Ireland.

 

“We’re now entering our 4th season in the SPL, and our second season in the top tier of the Academy system, where we finished 5th last season”.

 

 

We asked Gerry what keeps Partick Thistle, nicknamed the Jags, returning to the tournament time and again.“It’s a fantastic learning experience for our players. The top class facilities and professionalism of the tournament staff right on your doorstep is hard to be matched. It’s an opportunity for our players to work intensely together for one week, playing against top quality opposition – we’ll get five games against contrasting playing styles from around the globe. It’s an ideal pre-season format for match fitness and a great basis for the rest of the season”.

 

This year Partick Thistle will be competing in the Junior Section, having been a mainstay in the Premiers for the past few years. “We wanted to give our younger group the experience before they go into their competitive league this season,” explained Gerry. They’ll certainly get competitive opposition in the form of County Down, last year’s finalists Southampton and Sheffield Utd in their three group stage fixtures.

 

Gerry sees it as a “brilliant draw” for his charges. “The chance to play last season’s finalists Southampton is a great prospect, but all our opponents will offer top class learning opportunities for our players and staff. The preparations are going really well, with our players training every day since June 20th with the professional U20’s side. They also train at Glasgow University alongside our first team squad which is a great learning opportunity for our young players”.

 

Whilst the opposition will be different this year, the side will be again basing themselves out of the University of Ulster at Coleraine, the perfect place to call home for a week in Gerry’s eyes. “The facilities and staff at the University are second to none, and we get to meet other teams there to see how they prepare for games and how they conduct themselves off the field. We’re also looking forward to returning to the Giant’s Causeway if possible as it was an amazing experience in the past”.

 

So the Jags are ready to go for the 2016 Super Cup NI.

 

Written by Graeme McClure

 

Partick Thistle fixtures:

 

Monday 25th July: Patrick Thistle v County Down – Anderson Park, Coleraine @ 3.30pm
Tuesday 26th July: Patrick Thistle v Southampton – Castlerock @ 1.30pm
Wednesday 27th July: Patrick Thistle v Sheffield Utd – Clough, Ballymena @ 3.30pm