Alan Archibald has backed Stevie Lawless to put all thoughts of a move to Dundee United on hold this Saturday before dumping them out of the Scottish Cup.

Lawless was the Jags’ standout performer as his late goal defeated Motherwell on Tuesday night, despite continued speculation over his future ahead of the expiration of his contract in the summer.

United boss Mixu Paatelainen had irked some at Firhill by confirming his interest in the player ahead of last weekend’s postponed league fixture between the sides, but Archibald is sure that the comments will roll off the back of the player himself.

He said: “I think Steven had his best game for a while against Motherwell and the speculation about him leaving didn’t affect him one little bit.

“I think Mixu was asked the question about Steven and he’s an honest guy so he answered it. It’s awkward but it happens to every manager at some time. It’s difficult at any time but more so as we are playing them on Saturday.

“I think he will take the speculation as a compliment. On Saturday I’m sure he will be showing the Dundee United fans what they will be getting if he goes there.

“Most guys want a bit of security, especially when they have a couple of kids, but he doesn’t want to go down that road. Nearly being out of contract seems to spur him on and that tells you all you need to know about him.

“Steven has a job to do here first before he thinks about leaving – that’s if he goes. We are still hopeful though that he will stay here."

Lawless isn’t the only Thistle player that is out of contract at the end of the current season, and Archibald revealed that he is trying to sell the less tangible qualities of the club to his players as an incentive to stay put over chasing more lucrative offers.

“We are talking to all the boys and contract talks are on-going,” he said.

“We know some of them have people interested in them, but we are trying to persuade them it’s not all about money – they are playing good football here. Hopefully they will see that.”

The Jags boss is also hoping that the good football he references can be produced on Saturday when they travel to Tannadice, and that his players can take the supporters on a similar journey to the one which led him to Hampden as a Thistle player himself back in 2002.

He said: “I think the cup still brings you that excitement. The St Mirren game in the last round brought a real buzz to the place leading up to it. It’s a bit different because we are playing a team from our division but it’s still exciting.

“Everyone dreams of playing at Hampden in a semi-final or final. If we get a bit closer to the semi-finals then I might start boring them to death about my game there against Rangers.

“I think with Ross County beating Celtic in the League Cup it does start making you think ‘that could be us’. We have seen over the last few years teams like St Johnstone and Inverness have won the Cup and we would like a run ourselves.

“We know we are long overdue for a cup run, but we never get an easy draw. It was the same last year when we got a few Premiership teams – then again you have to beat them at some point. Hopefully this is our time.”