Queens ready to face former gaffer

Oct 31 2008 by Craig Robertson, Dumfries Standard Friday

Queens

QUEENS make a bid to protect their prestigious league leader’s position tomorrow – against a manager that will be fired up to knock it off them.

The Dumfries side travel to Firhill looking to defend their one-point lead at the top of the First Division against Partick Thistle.

But it’s a game with even more at stake – the bragging rights over former Queens boss Ian McCall who holds the reins at The Jags.

The landscape at Queens has changed a lot since Dumfries native McCall was at the helm and he can expect to meet a tougher, more resilient Palmerston outfit, full of confidence and ability.

And since he took charge at Thistle – leaving his former deputy in charge at Palmerston – every meeting between these two sides has had that extra little bit of interest not only for the managers, who are good pals, but for the fans and players as well.

So Queens boss Gordon Chisholm is gearing his men up for tough battle.

He said: “I know full well that the fact we’re playing Thistle with Ian McCall at the helm will add that bit extra spice to the game.

“With Ian being a Dumfries boy and a former Queens’ manager it will give more incentive to both sides and, owing to the circumstances, our fans will be expecting that bit more from us.

“I see Ian regularly at reserve matches and we chat about old times but we’ve both got our own jobs to do and that means winning on Saturday.”

Chisholm was delighted with the effort shown on the pitch last week in the 2-0 win against Ross County up at Dingwall in what were horrendous conditions. It was a major bounce back to form for his men who suffered defeat at the hands of Airdrie just a week before.

And the side was given another lift this week with the news that Chisholm wasn’t interested in the vacant Dundee job.

“It was good to bounce back and beat Ross County at Dingwall which kept us top of the table,” the manager told the club’s official website.

“It was three great points considering they’d just won four games on the trot and we had half a dozen players missing.”

Under-16s can get into Queen of the South’s game against Partick Thistle on Saturday for nothing. The Glasgow club lets anyone under the age of 16 into Firhill for free.