Ian McCall relishing first managerial duel with Morton boss Dougie Imrie as Partick Thistle play catch-up in Championship title race

The Jags boss revealed how difficult the former Hamilton Accies midfielder was to combat during his playing days
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During his playing career Dougie Imrie earned a reputation as roaming playmaker which led Partick Thistle manager Ian McCall to revert to unconventional tactics to rein him in.

The former Hamilton Accies legend took his first steps into management back in December with Morton after a spell as first-team coach at Livingston and has spearheaded a revival in the club’s fortunes.

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Imrie’s six-match unbeaten run came to an end against Accies on Saturday and he will watch on from the stands at Firhill this evening after being hit with a TEN game ban for breaching betting rules.

Dougie Imrie has left his post at Livingston to take up the manager's job at former club Morton. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)Dougie Imrie has left his post at Livingston to take up the manager's job at former club Morton. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Dougie Imrie has left his post at Livingston to take up the manager's job at former club Morton. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

McCall has been impressed by the short-term impact Imrie has had at Cappielow but admits the 38-year-old will need to maintain his positive start as a fledgling manager over the coming seasons.

He said: “Dougie has really organised them well and they have a settled team which always helps.

“I remember Dougie playing against my teams over the years. I remember one time I put a 6ft 3inch centre forward on the right-hand side of midfield to try to combat Imrie as he was so good in the air.

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“That was a long time ago. He will know himself that you are judged over a number of years and not a number of games, but so far he has been really, really good.

“We watched Morton on Saturday and they had been on a great run until the weekend. We will need to match them but it’s an opportunity for us at home to get a win on the board and push us up the table.

“It’s a big period coming up and the games come thick and fast. It’s about how well we handle them and how lucky we are with injuries.

“Most of the teams have one game to go until they are in the last quarter but we are miles behind in terms of fixtures.

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“I hate saying take one game at a time but the Morton one is all that matters. It will be a certain type of game and it’s one we want to win.”

Thistle are facing a fixture backlog after their clash with Dunfermline at East End Park last Friday was the latest Championship fixture to be called off.

Firhill Stadium, the home of Partick Thistle. Picture: SNSFirhill Stadium, the home of Partick Thistle. Picture: SNS
Firhill Stadium, the home of Partick Thistle. Picture: SNS

It has left McCall’s side playing catch-up in the league having played FOUR fewer games than the three sides above them in the table.

The Jags will play one of those games in hand tonight and while McCall admits the club are “miles behind” in terms of finishing the third quarter of fixtures, he believes the recent spate of postponements has meant Thistle have gone under the radar in the title race.

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He admitted: “Every Saturday when we don’t play and results go for us – which seems to be happening all the time – that helps with morale.

“We’ve not really been talked about much, which is great, I love that. But I think there are a few of them (in the dressing room) a bit gutted that we’re still in fifth place because we haven’t played.

“If that’s the type of attitude my players have got then I’m very happy with that. I don’t try and encourage that but if they feel like that, that’s great.

“I think that’s why we’re not really in people’s thoughts. We have an opportunity (tonight) to climb two places in the league.

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Falkirk had a poor run towards the end (of last season) but it wouldn’t have mattered if we hadn’t won eight games in a row.

Ian McCall led Partick Thistle to the League One title. Picture: SNSIan McCall led Partick Thistle to the League One title. Picture: SNS
Ian McCall led Partick Thistle to the League One title. Picture: SNS

“That was good but it’s different now. We’ve got a better team but we’re playing against better teams.”

Asked whether he would prefer to have points on the board, McCall replied: “I do simple arithmetic, if a team is seven points ahead of us and we have three games in hand I would rather have the points.

“But on the other hand when we are two points behind the team in third with four games in hand, so I would rather be where we are.

“It all depends on the circumstances but we want to win.”

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McCall confirmed full-back Richard Foster is back in the squad after recovering from a calf strain, while centre-half Darren Brownlie “is coming along nicely” and could return to action following a lengthy lay-off in the coming weeks.

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