Chris Erskine says he is ready to put his Dundee United nightmare behind him and get back to his best for Partick Thistle.

Erskine endured a difficult season at Tannadice as the club lurched from one crisis to another, eventually being relegated to the Championship.

The attacking midfielder found himself on the sidelines for much of the campaign, firstly through injury, and then as he struggled to force his way into manager Mixu Paateleainen’s plans when fit.

His case wasn’t helped after he signed a pre-contract agreement with Thistle in January, but now he has arrived back at the Jags, he can’t wait to get going again in front of the Firhill faithful.

“I’m delighted to be back,” Esrkine said. “With the way things went personally and for Dundee United last season, it’s nice to be back in familiar surroundings.

“I think the club is a good fit for me, and I have a good feeling for the club because they took me from the juniors and gave me a chance to play professional football. That’s something I won’t forget.

“I had good times here the first four years I was here, so when I got the chance to come back it was quite an easy decision.

“I don’t know why I’ve been able to maintain that bond with the fans here, maybe it’s just because of what I done when I was here before in helping the club get to the Premiership.

“I’ve got a good rapport with them and I can’t thank them enough for that. Coming to Firhill and getting clapped as an opposition player was brilliant.”

Erskine found himself in a difficult position after agreeing to return to Thistle while his club own at the time were trying to scrap their way clear of relegation.

He admits that he was torn when United played against the Jags, even though he was relegated to the role of spectator on those occasions.

He said: “The manager told me right away after I signed the pre-contract that I wouldn’t be involved in the games against Thistle, which was fair enough I suppose.

“It was hard knowing that I was coming here and I wanted Thistle to stay up, and being at Dundee United where I have a lot of good friends and wanting them to stay up.

“Mixu thought it would be a conflict of interest for me to play against Thistle, but I found myself out of the team for most of the games anyway.

“When you’re coming out of contract there are so many players and so little teams that you’re sometimes wondering where your next contract is coming from.

“Thistle contacted me as early as they could to put an offer on the table for me, and with the way things were going at Dundee United they never done the same thing.

“You’ve got to look after yourself, although I can understand that with the way things were going that it might looked as if I was jumping ship.

“It was a massively frustrating season for me, so I just want to have a good season this year, that’s my main focus and hopefully I can do that.”

Thistle fans have been expressing their excitement at the capture of the man they affectionately know as ‘Squiddy’, and he is sure that he can fulfil their expectations.

“I think I’m a better player now,” he said. “My time at United didn’t go the way I wanted, but I was playing with good players there and a lot of them have moved on to bigger and better things. I think that can only make you a better player.

“Hopefully we’ll see that this year.”