“We Believe 100% That We Can Do It” – Tony Watt on Premiership Promotion Push

Partick Thistle striker Tony Watt has faith that he and his teammates will secure promotion to the Premiership on Monday night. The Maryhill club drew with St. Mirren 1-1 at Firhill in the first leg of the Premiership playoff, and go into the second leg on level terms thanks to a fantastic assist provided by Watt for Aidan Fitzpatrick’s equaliser. And the 32-year-old has taken belief from his side’s spirited second half performance that they can make Partick Thistle a Premiership team for the first time since 2018. “Yeah absolutely, we believe 100% that we can do it and I bet St. Mirren are the same.” Watt said post-match. “We showed a good account of ourselves second half, we changed the shape, we got a bit more control of the game and we’ve got 11 boys in the pitch, we’ve got a lot on the bench and we’ve got a coaching staff that know the game and can change it. “We were probably against the tide a wee bit in the first half and we changed it at half-time and I thought we were a better team second half.” Watt, who had a loan spell at St. Mirren in 2023, joined Mark Wilson’s side last summer and says that conversations with him from when he first signed gave him assurance that a promotion push was manageable. “I genuinely thought we could go and win the league when I was having conversations with the manager about signing. “I seen the squad and I knew he was going to sign and I know his budget was small but I knew he was going to work on a lot of stuff but nobody really gave us a chance. “Everybody kind of predicted us fifth, sixth, maybe even seventh, I think with all the turmoil behind the scenes at the club, and I think everybody’s chipped in, including the cup runs, including the league, including everything to help the club get to a better place. “Long may it continue, it’s a fantastic club, it deserves to be in a good place.” The former Scotland international has won the Premiership with Celtic and the Championship with Dundee United, but says earning promotion with Thistle could surpass both of those achievements. “I genuinely think number one, I think it would be probably the pinnacle. “I won the league at Celtic, who were my boyhood club, but Celtic were going to win the league that year, without me they’d have won it. “Dundee United was massive, I loved that, we were probably expected to win it but this year the expectation’s been on everybody else and we probably weren’t even tipped to be in the play-offs, “So look, it’s a straight shootout on Monday and we put ourselves in the race and it would probably be number one.”

“I Thought I Was a Bit of a Roy Keane, But Now I’m Turning Into Robbie!” – Phillips on Forward Deployment

St. Mirren’s Killian Phillips is embracing being deployed as a striker after scoring his side’s only goal in a 1-1 draw away to Partick Thistle in the first leg of the Scottish Premiership relegation playoff. The Irish international, who normally plays in centre midfield, has scored two in his last two appearances, which has seen him used as an attacker in both. And the 24-year-old joked that he has began transitioning from one Irish Keane to another. “It’s the business end of the season where anything goes, and look if it’s going to help the team I’ll play anywhere” Phillips said on the decision to play him up front. “It’s probably something that he [Craig McLeish] noticed in training. I don’t mind, I grew up playing football on the roads, so I think I can play anywhere on the pitch, and I think I’ve shown that. “I thought I was a bit of a Roy Keane, but now I’m turning into Robbie a little bit! My celebration isn’t as good!” Phillips scored the opener in the first half with a composed outside of the boot finish, but it would be cancelled out by an Aidan Fitzpatrick tap-in on the hour mark. The former Crystal Palace man however did not underestimate the challenge of the side in the division below. “They’re a very good side, they’re unbeaten at home, so we know how much of a fortress this is for them. “It’s level again, coming into our gaff, and I’m sure they’ll [St. Mirren fans] will be bouncing. “I think both sets of fans were unbelievable, it was rocking. They have a great set of fans here and it was bouncing, and I’m sure the SMISA will be bouncing next week. “I think we need to start well, I think that’s very important. We need to probably control the game a little bit more at times as well. “They’ll have spells where they’re on top and I think we need to nullify that. Tonight we probably didn’t do that as well as we’ve done through the season.” St. Mirren host Partick Thistle in the return leg this Monday night as Partick Thistle aim to redeem their playoff heartache of 2023.

Thomas Tuchel Announces England World Cup Squad

England manager Thomas Tuchel has announced his 26-man squad for this summer’s World Cup. Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of many big names to be left at home, as well as Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer. Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney has earned his seat on the plane despite not featuring for the Three Lions since June last year, and Spurs’ right-back Djed Spence has been trusted ahead of Alexander-Arnold despite breaking his jaw on Tuesday. Manchester United defender Harry Maguire broke the news last night that he would not be in the squad, letting his social media followers aware that he was ‘shocked and gutted’ of Tuchel’s decision. The likes of Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah have been preferred to the former Red Devils captain. The squad in full: GOALKEEPERS: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Manchester City) DEFENDERS: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City) MIDFIELDERS: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) FORWARDS: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munchen), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (FC Barcelona), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)