IAN McCALL admits he is gutted by Gary Harkins� departure to Dundee today. The 24-year-old sealed his £150,000 move to Dens Park after having a medical on Tayside.

IAN McCALL admits he is gutted by Gary Harkins' departure to Dundee today. The 24-year-old sealed his £150,000 move to Dens Park after having a medical on Tayside.

And the Firhill manager believes the money on offer was just too good for Thistle to turn down, despite his desperation to keep his top scorer and playmaker.

McCall said: "I am absolutely gutted about Gary's departure to Dundee but, outside of the Old Firm, there is nobody paying that kind of money. So we had to take the offer as it met our valuation.

"I have no doubt that if we could have paid the wages Dundee have offered, then Gary would have signed the extension we wanted him to complete.

"As we could not, there is no way we could watch the clock run down on his current deal and lose him next year for next to nothing.

"For me, Gary has all the attributes to go on and become a Scotland international.

"It is up to him - he has all the skill in the world and he just needs to apply himself. But he has left a big hole for us to fill."

Jags youngster Paul Cairney, though, believes he is the very man to fill that void.

With Scott Chaplain having already joined Dumbarton, and Kevin McKinlay released, Cairney says there is now enough of an opening for him to elbow his way into the Thistle boiler room.

The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at Queen's Park after having joined the Jags from the Amateurs in the summer of 2008.

This time around, Cairney is desperate to make an immediate impact - starting in Saturday's closed-door game with Cowdenbeath.

He explained: "There is a chance now for someone like me to make an impact. I have been keeping working as hard as I can and also trying learn as much as I can from the likes of David Rowson.

"This pre-season is really where my Thistle career starts, in that it is the first one in which I am genuinely hopeful of catching the gaffer's eye to earn a jersey.

"Hopefully I can feature against Cowdenbeath and it is just going to be a question of doing everything I can every time I get an opportunity to stay in."

As well as accepting the setback of Harkins' departure, McCall also approaches the season in the knowledge that his striking department is looking as lightweight as his midfield.

The only strikers in his first- team squad are Liam Buchanan and Kris Doolan, while Dundee have signed Leigh Griffiths, Pat Clarke and Sean Higgins to complement their front pair of Mickael Antoine-Curier and Colin McMenamin.

Cairney, though, smashed home 10 goals for QP in the Second Division last term and thinks he can weigh in with his fair share.

He said: "I do like to get forward and get in among the goals, but my game is all about movement as well and, if the boss needs me to go box-to-box, I can do that. In the meantime, with us having been at it solid or six days now, it is just great to be looking forward to the start of the games."