New Partick Thistle sporting director Ian Baraclough aiming to get club back to the Premiership

Partick Thistle’s new sporting director, Ian Baraclough, has set his sights on getting the Firhill club back to the Premiership.

The former Northern Ireland and Motherwell boss was appointed to the role with the Glasgow side on Monday and will work alongside interim managers Brian Graham and Mark Wilson as they aim to secure a play-off spot.

Currently sitting in fourth place, the Jags are three points ahead of fifth place Raith Rovers, with four games remaining.

The teams in second to fourth will take part in the promotion play-off to earn a place in the top flight next season.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Baraclough made clear his intentions to help the club regain its place among the big boys.

He said: “There’s hopefully going to be a lot of good things to look forward to. If we can secure a play-off position, then there’s a chance to get back into the Premiership.

“That has got to be the goal for any club in this division. Hopefully, we give ourselves a really good chance of that, and let’s see how we go with that.”

Graham and Wilson have hit the ground running since being appointed on a caretaker basis, and the pair scooped the Manager of the Month award for March.

Baraclough has been delighted with what he has seen so far and insists there will be no rush to make a decision on a permanent manager.

He said: “I sat down with Brian and Mark yesterday, we had a really good conversation and there is no need to bulldoze my way in.

“They’ve done really well over the last few weeks and that gives us a chance to just settle things down and get results on the park.

“The players look like they are enjoying their football and that makes it easier for me coming into this role, look at the processes around the place and speak to as many people as possible and make decisions from there.

“There have been no decisions made beyond the rest of this season in which Brian and Mark will play a massive part.

“I will be part of that (the process to appoint a manager), I won’t necessarily have the sole decision. We have two or three decision makers and we look at everything.

“For me it’s all about getting this club back in the top division, the Championship is a very competitive league and every club will have visions of getting into the Premiership, so it’s never going to be easy.”