AARON SINCLAIR hopes Partick Thistle have banished their mid-season blip after returning to top form and getting their title challenge back on track.

Jackie McNamara's side remain five points adrift of Irn-Bru First Division leaders Morton but got a crucial win on the board as doubles from Chris Erskine and Conrad Balatoni helped them to a 4-1 win over Falkirk.

The Firhill triumph brought an end to a poor run of form that had seen the Jags drop points at Airdrie United, Livingston and Dumbarton in recent weeks.

Next up for Thistle is a home fixture with Cowdenbeath this weekend before they play one of their two games in hand over the Ton and fellow promotion rivals Dunfermline when they make the trip to Central Park the following Saturday.

Sinclair knows the Jags' recent run has not been title- winning material but the left-back is confident they can recapture their superb early-season form as they look to regain pole position.

He said: "Our previous win was against Raith and that was over a month ago so it is nice to get back to winning ways. Hopefully that kickstarts us again and we can go on another good run.

"We had collected two points from a possible 15 and that wasn't good enough so it was important that we won on Saturday to get us back on track. Hopefully that will push us on now, starting with Cowdenbeath this Saturday.

"We have shown at the start of the season that we are capable of going on a good run of wins so we need to look to do that again now.

"There were maybe a few boys low on confidence but that happens when you are going through a bad run. We had a number of good performances so hopefully that can kickstart us."

With their recent troubles now behind them, the challenge for McNamara's players is to ensure they keep up the pressure at the top of the table.

Few members of the Firhill squad have been over the course and distance but Sinclair is confident the young Jags squad can handle the heat of the title race.

He said: "Guys like Alan Archibald, Hugh Murray and Steven Craig are always in the dressing-room giving us advice and Paul Paton has been great for us as well, he is one of our leaders.

"Apart from those four, the team isn't very old and isn't very experienced. They lead by example and the rest of the us feed off that.

"I have enjoyed the pressure of the season, it is certainly different from being at Montrose and being near the bottom of the table. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.

"I have never been challenging for a league before so, like a lot of the boys, this is my first title race. We just need to take it one game at a time and keep going and hopefully I can get my first winner's medal.

"There is no point looking too far in the future or about the two games we have in hand. We are only focused on the next game and looking to keep picking up points every week."