PARTICK THISTLE boss Jackie McNamara hailed his new Jags stars as they continued their impressive pre-season campaign with a 4-1 win at Ayr United.
The Firhill boss saw his side record their biggest win of the summer thanks to a Steven Lawless brace and strikes from Sean Welsh and Christie Elliot.
McNamara handed starts to all four of his summer signings - Aaron Muirhead, Hugh Murray, Welsh and Lawless- in Ayrshire as they faced a United side high in confidence following their 4-0 win over Motherwell on Saturday.
Next up for Thistle is their ARR Craib Cup clash with Celtic on Saturday, with a potential meeting against Everton on the cards the following day and McNamara is delighted with the progress his squad have made.
He said: "It is important we win these games and we do it in the right way. We want to be positive and not just go through the motions.
"The new players have been fantastic. Muirhead has played a number of positions for us and impressed, Hugh has played all the games and been terrific and young Steven showed what he can do last night with two goals.
"We knew what Sean could do after having him last season and we were delighted to get him back this summer. All of them have settled in really well and that is encouraging."
It was midfielder Welsh who gave Thistle the perfect start against the Honest Men, with the former Hibs star finishing well from inside the area after just eight minutes.
The early goal was little more than the Jags deserved but they struggled to add to their encouraging opening as, despite controlling possession and moving the ball about well, they couldn't add to their tallyl, with Mark McGuigan and Christie Elliot spurning the two clearest openings.
Their profligacy soon proved costly as United levelled on 35 minutes, trialist Joel Kasubandi firing beyond Scott Fox as he found himself one-on-one with the Firhill keeper.
When the Jags finally added to the scoreline, they did so three-times in quick succession. First, quick thinking from sub Aaron Sinclair saw him release Chris Erskine down the left flank before Lawless tapped home at the back post.
The former Motherwell man's next effort was more spectacular, lobbing Ally Brown from 25 yards just minutes after Elliot had fired a low drive beyond the trialist keeper.
Meanwhile, Thistle have announced that Brian Donald has been appointed as a director of the club. The former BBC rugby and golf broadcaster is a lifelong Jags fan and is the second new addition to the Firhill hierarchy in recent weeks, following businessman Ajay Chopra in taking a seat on the board.