ALAN ARCHIBALD hopes Partick Thistle can strike the right balance this summer as they step up their preparations for the new Ladbrokes Premiership campaign.

The Jags boss has spent the last couple of weeks putting his squad through their paces ahead of the big kick-off at their Garscube training base.

After bounce matches against Dunfermline and Dumbarton, Thistle will play English non-league outfit Eastleigh tomorrow night.

And Archibald is keen to ensure his first-team pool continue on the road to peak condition at The Silverlake.

He said: “We have tweaked a few things from last season, you always do. You look back at the end of the season and see what you could do differently.

“We picked up a few knocks last summer and had a few injuries. We went to Spain with about 24 players and we ended up short of bodies because six or seven were injured.

“We have tried to go a bit easier on them. We don’t have a big squad and we can’t afford any injuries. We are making sure they are still getting their fitness, but it is important they don’t pick up any knocks.

“First and foremost, the Eastleigh game is about fitness and not getting injured. In terms of the result, we want to win every game, but that is not the most important thing.

“We will train tomorrow morning because it is about getting fitness firstly. We might not be as sharp, but it would be nice to win the game as well.”

After spending time on the continent with a trip to Spain 12 months ago, it is across the border Thistle will work in the coming days as they continue their summer schedule.

Firhill youngsters Declan McDaid, David Wilson, Liam Lindsay, Jack Hendry and Jordan Leyden will be part of the Jags group and Archibald hopes the training camp will prove worthwhile for his Firhill squad.

He said: “It is important to get away for a few days. As a player, there is nothing worse than coming back for four or five weeks leading up to the first game and there is a monotony to the training.

“To get away is great and it is good for the lads to spend time together. If you have new players, it gives them a chance to mix into the camp. Tomas Cerny and David Amoo have settled in well and they have looked good. We are happy with them.

“The younger players are in the dressing room and they are part of the squad now. There is a pathway where they wait to get into the first team dressing room and they are there now.

“They are all part of the group and they are first-team players now. It is important to get them bedded in and that they know what is expected and that they are ready to play if called upon.”

With keeper Cerny and wide man Amoo already on board, Archibald has a strong squad at his disposal for the upcoming training and match schedule.

But the Jags boss hopes patience will be a virtue as he bids to further bolster his squad in the coming weeks, with a right-back and striker the priority.

Archibald said: “Sometimes with the better ones you want to get in on loan their teams will use them for the first couple of weeks of pre-season, so the deals can be hard to do.

“It is the time factor in terms of loan players, and also with the ones who are out of contract.

“Players down south still get paid and they are not as desperate for a deal as the Scottish lads, while there are also more clubs down there they can bounce about until they want to come to us.”