Harry Milne delighted to have sent Dundee fans home earlier

Last month’s 3-2 defeat by Rangers in the Scottish Cup was the last game for Ian McCall and his assistants, who took charge of the Jags while Kris Doolan then handed the reins on an interim basis. That position was made permanent on Friday and it’s not hard to see why. Four games under the new regime have produced 10 points and three clean sheets, reigniting Thistle’s drive for the Cinch championship title with nine games remaining.

Last week’s 3-1 win at Dens Park was the best of Doolan’s many performances and the visitors reacted with vigor as the pressure mounted. Two goals from Brian Graham had put the Jags ahead before Jordan McGhee threatened a Dundee comeback – but those hopes were dashed within 60 seconds when Milne restored his side’s two-goal lead.

CONTINUE READING: Dundee 1 Partick Thistle 3: Kris Doolan passes managerial audition with flying colors

“It was good to have a quick response,” Milne said after winning his third McCrea Financial Services Player of the Month award of the season, voted for by Jags fans. “I think the last time we were up there we drove to a Flyer, just like Tuesday night.

“They pulled one back and started locking us in a little bit and it got a little back and forth. When they scored and the goal fell, the fans might have thought, ‘Oops, let’s go’. But it was good to have that reaction right away. And that effectively ended the game for us, which was good.

Milne’s goal had another surprising effect. Angry fans in the home team got a glimmer of hope from McGee’s intervention, only for Milne to almost immediately extinguish it – causing some Dundee supporters to head for the exits early.

“As an opposing player, you like to see that! You want to see them go and bounce off your fans, so that was great,” the full-back added. “I think they got fed up and started walking, then they scored and they all ran back. And before they sat down again, they started walking again. So it was very pleasing to see.”

This immediate reaction against Dundee reflects the team’s recovery under their new manager. Like Milne at Dens, the team responded brilliantly – wasting no time as Doolan was able to hit the ground running.

“It was always a bit of a difficult situation,” Milne said of the leadership change. “It’s a bit of a shock for everyone but it’s the direction the club wanted to go that you have to respect. “We’re professional here, we want to maintain good standards, so for us it wouldn’t change too much in terms of what we can give to the team.

“Dools has repeated this a couple of times and you know the fans expect at least everyone to work hard. I think everyone kept doing that and we managed to bring quality together on the ball.

CONTINUE READING: Brian Graham aims for the league title after Thistle defeated Dundee

“It’s obviously good to just get something and have it set in stone and we know where we all stand. It’s good for Dools too, he knows where he is now and everyone can get their focus back on things on the pitch.

“Since he came the results we’ve had are really good. I think the second half at Arbroath [where Thistle drew 0-0] Probably the only 45 minutes was football that we actually didn’t play very well. We were maybe lucky to end up with a draw there.

“We’ve worked hard and we’ve all stuck to our job and we see things getting really tight with the league this year. It’s on its head and anything can happen, so we’ve managed to get ourselves back into the mix, which we’re excited about. We have nine games left so we’ll see where we end up.

Partick Thistle’s Player of the Month Awards are proudly sponsored by McCrea Financial Services – visit www.mccreafs.co.uk to find out more.