Ryan Edwards got the perfect birthday present this week with a new extended deal at Partick Thistle, and he intends to celebrate in style with a win over Motherwell this afternoon.

It may seem a long time ago now as the midfielder picked up his second club player of the month award in a row a couple of weeks ago, but his career in Scotland didn’t get off to the best of starts.

Already behind on his fitness after missing pre-season with Thistle, frequent trips away with Australia’s under-23 side didn’t help his cause as he looked to establish himself at Firhill.

He has set about that task with relish so far this campaign though, with his energetic displays in the middle of the park a standout feature of Thistle’s recent upturn in fortunes.

And although he found himself on the substitutes’ bench more than he would have liked last season, he was never in any doubt that he would cement his place as one of the first names on manager Alan Archibald’s teamsheet. Indeed, he has made as many appearances for the club already this season - featuring in all 17 games Thistle have played in all competitions - than he managed in the whole of his debut campaign.

“Everything has gone as well as I’d hoped this season,” Edwards said. “It was all very stop-start for me last year. I was forever coming and going due to my international commitments with the Under-23 side.

“Thistle were also playing some good stuff at the time so it was difficult to break into the team. However, I got a run of games towards the end of the last campaign and I’ve carried that on.

“I made sure that I had a good break and came back sharp for pre-season training. I was ready to go and I’ve featured in every game so far and started the last eight. I’ve also won the club’s Player of the Month award twice so it’s been a good start and I’m really happy.

“There was never a time when I thought it wouldn’t work out. I was always confident that I would get a chance and that I would take it when it came.

“I’m not one to go knocking on manager’s doors – I prefer to do my talking on the pitch and I made sure to put in maximum effort on the training ground every day because I’ve also believed that, if you work hard, you’ll get your reward.

“That was my mindset and it’s worked out. We’ve had a lot of injuries and my versatility has helped a bit because we’ve played in quite a few formations since I’ve been in the side – 4-4-2 , 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1.

“I’ve been used in the defensive positions but I’ve also played out wide, although it’s always best to nail down one particular role.”

To round off a perfect week, Edwards will have to help Thistle do something that they haven’t managed in almost 21 years, beat Motherwell at Fir Park.

“That would be nice,” he said. “We’ve been using a really positive formation recently and, bar the defeat against Aberdeen, that’s seen us rack up consistently good performances and pick up results, too.

“Hopefully, we can go to Motherwell and force them to react to us and what we’re doing as opposed to the other way round.

“I didn’t know about not winning at Motherwell in so long but it’s not something we think about as players. We just go out and do our jobs and the best team will win on the day. “