MCCALL'S THE MAN TO PLOT JAGS' BIG REVIVAL

Jun 24 2007 Rob Maclean

IF YOU'D told Ian McCall 10 years ago what football management would have in store for him he'd have thought you were dafter than he was. And that used to be pretty daft.

His decade in the dugout has seen him work minor miracles with two clubs who went out of business - Clydebank and Airdrie.

Success at Falkirk won him a dream job at Dundee United but that turned into a nightmare when he took on the task of slashing the club's crazy wage bill.

And McCall is far from a home-town hero in Dumfries despite twice saving Queen of the South from relegation to the Second Division.

It's a story only the most imaginative of scriptwriters would have put together.

But there's nothing far-fetched about Partick Thistle's belief that they've hired the perfect new gaffer to give them their place back in the Scottish game.

In fact, it's partly because of his bizarre CV that Jags reckon McCall is the man to put the thrill back into Firhill - and I think they're right.

He's hungry. I know he doesn't look it but you only have to talk to him to realise the appetite he has to shake Thistle out their lethargy.

And even if the club's budget had been more than modest, which it's not, Ian would still have wanted players who share his hunger.

Striker Liam Buchanan has scored 40 goals in the last couple of seasons for Cowdenbeath and despite interest from Inverness he sees Partick as the best option for progress.

Scott Chaplain is moving up as well after his 22 goals for mid-table Albion Rovers made him last season's SPFA Third Division player of the year.

McCall has also brought in players who have already sampled the SPL and fancy taking a step down to get back to where they feel they belong.

Defender Marc Twaddle, surprisingly freed by Falkirk, and former Kilmarnock winger Stevie Murray both qualify in that category.

Murray's arrival on loan at Queen of the South played a big part in their survival last term and it's time he turned potential into product.

There have been seven signings at Firhill since McCall took the reins a month ago and Thistle fans can confidently expect a few more, even if they're not permanent transfers.

But the books have been more than balanced with 13 players leaving - including the likes of Kenny Arthur, Billy Gibson, Stephen McConalogue and Derek Young.

The only two who were out of contract and offered new deals were defender John Robertson and skipper Jimmy

Gibson. McCall is building a new team and that sounds a daunting prospect - until you realise he's done it twice before.

At Airdrie he started virtually from scratch and put a new side together inside a week. He did the same at Falkirk where he made his name in management alongside two players who followed in his footsteps - John Hughes and Owen Coyle.

He is again working on a limited budget at Thistle and working for about half the salary of predecessor Dick Campbell.

But McCall took the job on that basis and will realise bleating about spending power is pointless.

What does make him angry though is the selection of conspiracy theories flying around about his switch from Palmerston to Partick.

One story claims he overspent at Queens and was bombed out. Another version has him walking away because the club failed to match his ambitions.

And do either of those matter anyway? Did he not just want out because there was a situation vacant in Maryhill?

It seems truth of his departure is a private matter and will remain so.

But McCall is disappointed about the stick he's taken in a town his mum still calls home.

I know for a fact he didn't see himself as a stick-on for the Jags job even if much of the newspaper speculation when he left Queen of the South did.

And if Ian wasn't completely confident at that stage about taking over the Firhill hotseat he had good reason to be doubtful.

I'm led to believe Jags directors were initially far from unanimous about the appointment of McCall and needed convincing his wild West End days were over.

But the only club he wants buzzing at the moment is Partick and he's already in the process of changing it from top to bottom.

There are Under-17 and Under-19teams but no proper youth or community football structure. That's something McCall is determined to change over the next couple of years.

By then he'll also hope to have Thistle vibrant again at top-team level and challenging for am SPL return. That target seems anything but daft.