Dundee Utd v Partick Thistle: Can visitors make Championship a three-team fight?

Kris Doolan and Brian Graham believe Partick Thistle can still challenge for the Championship title

They might be six points behind Dundee United, having played a game more, and a further five adrift of leaders Raith Rovers, but don't tell Partick Thistle they are out of the Scottish Championship title race.

Manager Kris Doolan won't entertain such talk. Especially not with a trip to Tannadice, live on BBC Scotland, next up.

"If we can get a good result, you can cut that gap and really turn the screw from now until the end of the season," he said.

"There is a bit of a gap between second and third and then third and fourth - but I think when you understand the Championship, the gap gets cut down in the final part of the season. Everybody gets pulled closer together.

"It is not very often in the Championship that one team runs away with it. It is usually a division that is very tight at both ends all the way until the end."

Doolan would know. His Thistle side lost just once in the last 13 matches of last term, roaring back up the division to finish fourth before somehow losing the Premiership play-off final to Ross County.

They were 2-0 up after the first leg and led 1-0 in the second before County scored three goals in 19 minutes to force extra time and eventually win on penalties.

'Punching above our weight'

Thistle suffered a 5-0 league defeat to United in October, but secured a 2-1 win at Tannadice in the League Cup in July.

The matches between the two have been given added spice after former club captain Ross Docherty and defender Kevin Holt moved to United when Thistle failed to gain promotion last season.

But after a challenging few months for the club off the field, Jags captain Brian Graham - also a former Dundee United player - believes the team are moving in the right direction.

"There has been a lot of change since the beginning of the season, where the manager's budget has been slashed," he said.

'We are probably punching above our weight considering the amount of players we lost last year.

"As players you go into every season believing you can win the league. And I am led to believe the manager is going to try to strengthen again in January, so why can we not be up there challenging?"

The 36-year-old forward agreed a new deal this week to stay with Thistle until 2026, and will take a player-coach role alongside his current post as manager of the women's side.

And after watching United struggle to a 0-0 draw on their last Friday outing against Queen's Park, he believes Thistle can capitalise on their rivals' recent form.

"For the amount of ball they had they never really looked like scoring that night [and] they obviously lost to Raith as well," he said.

"I know what that crowd can be like. If we can go up there the first 20 minutes and be right in the game, potentially score first, they will turn on them and it will not be a happy environment for them.

"We need to go there and try and turn the crowd against, do our own jobs, make sure we win our own individual battles and take it from there."