AARON Taylor-Sinclair has backed Partick Thistle to establish themselves as a Premiership club for years to come after saying his farewell to Firhill on Saturday.

The left-back missed out on his final appearance for the Jags due to injury as Alan Archibald's side finished their first top-flight campaign in nine years with a 3-2 defeat to Ross County.

Taylor-Sinclair is set to leave Thistle on a Bosman deal this summer after another impressive season in red and yellow that has seen him linked with a series of moves.

It has been a rapid rise through the ranks for the former Montrose star and the 23-year-old has thanked Thistle for giving him his big break as he gets set to move on during the close season.

Taylor-Sinclair said: "When I first signed, I just wanted to establish myself and I have progressed quite quickly.

"I have learned a lot in my time here. It is a great club and a great group of people to work with. I have to thank Jackie (McNamara) for bringing me to the club, I owe him a lot.

"Since Archie and Scott (Paterson) have taken over, I feel I have improved again ... not just going forward, they have improved me a lot defensively.

"Hopefully in the future I can keep progressing and see where that takes me.

"There is no reason why Thistle can't become an established Premiership team.

"It is a club that deserves to be there and hopefully the manager and the players can go on and aim for the top six.

"It was all new to us this year but having had the experience of it, the boys are better players for it and that can only bode well for the future."

Thistle may have ended the season on a disappointing note as County claimed all three points on Saturday but it has been a campaign to savour for Archibald and his players.

Victory over Hearts in midweek guaranteed them another shot at the Premiership next term and Taylor-Sinclair is delighted to have played his part, 12 months after clinching the First Division title.

He said: "It was disappointing that I couldn't play on Saturday but I had a hamstring strain and couldn't take any risks.

"It is the end of a great few years for me. It has gone past so quickly. The most important game for us was Hearts on Wednesday night so it was good to play in that one and get the win. It is nice to be able to move on with the team in the Premiership.

"That was the aim at the start of the season. It is a great achievement for us but it could have been even better, we were so close to finishing seventh.

"We wanted to stay in the league and it is great for the boys and the club we have done that."

While Archibald gets down to work to plan for a second top-flight campaign, Taylor-Sinclair has a host of offers to weigh up.

And the defender is eager to get his next move sorted sooner rather than later after his Jags career came to an end.

He said: "I am not sure yet what will happen but I am looking to get something sorted before I go away on holiday in June.

"Hopefully I will know by then. My agent is talking to a few clubs at the moment, I am pretty relaxed about it.

"There are clubs up here and down south so I will wait and see what my options are."