THE role of spearheading Partick Thistle's bid to take their promotion challenge to the last day of the season is likely to be handed to Liam Buchanan.

THE role of spearheading Partick Thistle's bid to take their promotion challenge to the last day of the season is likely to be handed to Liam Buchanan.

The 24-year-old hitman featured for the Jags for the first time in two months when he came off the bench to slot home a crucial stoppage time penalty winner against Livingston last Saturday.

And, after Buchanan trained through the early part of the week with no reaction to the troublesome groin injury that has plagued him this term, Firhill boss Ian McCall looks set to go with a strike force of Buchanan and Kris Doolan against second-bottom Airdrie United on Saturday.

McCall said: "Liam suffered no reaction to the Livingston game and he has come through training in the first part of the week very strongly.

"We will monitor him over the remainder of the week but, if he is fine, then there is every chance he could start the game against Airdrie even though we know he will not last the full 90 minutes.

"It may well be that we will pair him with Kris Doolan and see if that can help spark Kris back to his best. We know it will be a hard game against Airdrie as they will be determined to get the win and try and claw their way out of the relegation play-off spot as well as kill off Clyde's hopes of catching them - and we need to start the game with our strongest line0up."

Should Buchanan start, it would be his first appearance at 3pm on a Saturday since February 28 when he lasted 62 minutes of a 4-2 win at Livingston.

During the former Cowdenbeath striker's absence, ex-Auchinleck Talbot striker Doolan has had to shoulder much of the strike responsibility for Thistle.

After scoring some vital goals for the Firhill outfit, including a match-winning brace up at Ross County, the five-goal Doolan's form has dipped.

And McCall admitted: "We have needed to take Kris out and give him a break but, with the lack of options we have, that has not been possible.

"Obviously Lucas Akins has returned to Hamilton, while Simon Donnelly has been plagued by an ankle injury so we have needed to keep Kris in.

"But although they did not have much game time together before Liam's injury re-occurred, I think they looked like they had the makings of a decent partnership and both are very mobile as well as good finishers. So we may well go with them if everything pans out fine over the course of the week."

But centre-back John Robertson picked up a leg knock against Livingston and has not trained over the early part of the week.

A concerned McCall admitted: "John took a sore one and he has been having physio, but we are hopeful that he will be ready to resume training tomorrow. John has been a big player for us at the back this season and his consistency has been tremendous. I am hopeful he will be all right for Airdrie."

The news on long-term hamstring crock Stephen McKeown is not good. Dosser has not featured since limping off after 49 minutes of the 1-1 draw at St Johnston, on April 4, and will be lucky to feature again this term although he has returned to light t raining.

McCall said: "I think Liam's return has given everyone a lift and it was important we got back to winning ways at Firhill after having lost to Queen of the South at home in the game before the visit of Livingston.

"Now I am looking for one more big effort and then we can see where that has taken us in terms of our position."