Adam Barton says there is an easy way for Partick Thistle to
get their league season up and running – by simply being themselves.
The Thistle players were subjected to a video nasty when they reported for training yesterday, and the footage of their defeat to St Johnstone revealed that they had fallen into the trap of taking on the Saints at their own game.
While Barton would gladly sacrifice his own footballing principles if it meant getting points on the board for the Jags, he reckons that the best way for them to get out of their early season rut is by returning to
what they are good at.
“It was a tough one to take,” said Barton of the 1-0 defeat. “The disappointing thing was that we got sucked into the way the opposition like to play, rather than the way we want to play.
“We addressed that in training this morning – that we have to concentrate on ourselves a bit more rather than the opposition, and that comes from everyone.
“It’s still early stages and we have played some tough games
in the league, but it’s just disappointing because everyone knows how St Johnstone are going to play.
“Nobody is going to beat them at their own game, and I thought that is what we tried to do on Saturday without knowing it.
“Watching the game back, we tried to do what they do best, and obviously they were better at it than us. So, we learn from it, and we’ve got to start taking our game onto other people.
“Being at home on Saturday to Aberdeen, we have to try and play our game, which is getting the ball down and passing and moving.
“If we can get back to that, then we’ll give ourselves a really good chance.”
Barton isn’t getting too concerned about Thistle’s inability to register a point from their first three games, with the Jags overcoming a similarly slow start last season to grab a top-six place.
“The good thing is that we’ve been in this position before and come out of it, and we went on to have the best season that Thistle have had for many years,” he said.
“That’s the one thing we can hold onto even if it doesn’t go well in the next couple of weeks. We can keep believing in ourselves and keep doing what we believe in, and things will get better as they did last season.
“We’re not going into games thinking we are going to get beat, even with the tough games coming up against Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen. They are winnable games, and we will be going into them looking for the three points.”
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