Partick Thistle too hot for Celtic & Everton as they lift ARR Craib Trophy

Jul 23 2012

Sean Welsh Image 3

PARTICK THISTLE'S pre-season preparations went into overdrive at the weekend as they won their own tournament - beating Celtic XI and Everton XI to the ARR Craib Trophy.

The 2012/13 campaign begins in earnest this weekend when they take on Clyde in the first round of the Ramsdens Cup.

And Jackie McNamara's side will be bursting with confidence going into the match after two strong performances at Firhill at the weekend.

Sean Welsh emerged as the Jags man of the tournament after hitting two goals in Sunday's 3-1 win over The Toffees.

The former Hibs midfielder, who sealed a switch to Thistle in the summer, also netted in the 2-0 win over Celtic on Saturday.

And the 22-year-old midfielder said: "I'll be looking to keep that form going when the action starts for real.

"The aim this season is to get forward as much as possible and try to get into double figures."

Stand-in skipper Hugh Murray started both matches and told the club's official website it was the perfect beginning to his Firhill career.

Murray said: "We made lots of chances in both games and I'm sure the fans can see how hard we've been working in all our games up to now."

The 33-year-old added: "If you take me, Archie and Roswer out the equation then it's a really young side.

"You've got the likes of Paul Paton who's 25 and then after him everyone is pretty much 21 and under.

"But I think all the players have really risen to the challenge this pre-season. We've got good strength and depth in every department so competiton for places will be fierce.

"The gaffer's got plenty of options up front and when you've got the likes of Steven Lawless and Christie Elliot banging in goals plus players like Kris Doolan, Mark McGuigan and Chris Erskine more than capable of that too then you have to feel confident going into the new season."

Click here to watch Jackie McNamara's low down on pre-season.