As President Obama’s time in office drew to a close last month, striking images appeared online laying bare the toll his time inside the Whitehouse had taken on him.

Now, this is not to say that being manager of Partick Thistle is in any way comparable to being the most powerful man in the world. Although, even Kingsley’s official Twitter account has a touch more levity about it than the current custodian of the nuclear codes.

And thankfully, Alan Archibald took the the topic of the former president's rapid ageing in the jest by which it was intended.

But there is little doubt that the all-consuming nature of his own job has been a cross for the Thistle manager to bear as well as being his great privilege.

As he ticks past his fourth anniversary in the Firhill hotseat, the top-flight’s longest-serving manager can look back in satisfaction at a job well done, while recognising the sacrifices it took to achieve what he has.

That’s not to say his thirst for improving Thistle still further has abated. In fact, his thirst has only increased, and not only for the success he so craves to deliver for his club.

“I don’t know if the job has aged me, you’ll have to ask my wife,” Archibald said. “It probably has.

“You don’t sleep a lot, especially after games, and you drink a lot more too! A glass of wine certainly helps you switch off. The job has definitely changed me, there’s no doubt about that.

“I think if you ask any football manager’s wife they will tell you how unpredictable a life it is. You can’t plan a holiday until a month before it because of the Scottish Cup or the play-offs. You might be involved.

“It’s probably worse for the families, as a manager you know what you are getting involved in.

“The job is all-consuming and it takes over your life, so you have to make sure you give a bit back to your family, even though you will still be thinking about the game.

“You have to try to switch off, you can’t take it out on them 24/7. They’ve got to put up with enough as it is.

“I’ve definitely learnt how to handle it a little bit better but I could still do with switching off more.

“You can be out of the house three nights a week and during the day going to games or the under-20s or whatever.

“It’s a 24 hour-a-day job and the phone is always on, that just comes with the territory."

As Archibald casts his mind back over the early days of his tenure, he is reminded of the shock to the system he received as he came to terms with his new responsibilities.

“The first six months was particularly difficult for myself and the family getting used to it, it was a total nightmare," he said.

“We were doing so well and we had won the league, but that meant that everything was going 100 miles an hour and it was just constant.

“That was something I wasn’t used to at all and neither were the family. I think now, four years on, it’s different and I can delegate now.

“We’ve now got the club to a place where you trust the guys that are taking the 20s, you trust the youth development and you can rely on their feedback.

“Before, you felt you had to be there every minute of the day.”

The general landscape around Firhill and the professionalism of the club has changed beyond all recognition during Archibald’s four years at the helm.

The formation and success of the Thistle Weir Academy, the longer-term approach to player’s contracts, becoming an established top-flight outfit and establishing a structured scouting system were all pipe dreams not so long ago.

“How has it changed?” Archibald pondered. “When we got promotion, I was sitting Googling players on my computer. That’s what we did, there was nothing else for it.

“It was me, Ian Maxwell and Scott Paterson. We had just been promoted and we’re getting hundreds of players fired at us. Google was all we had!”

With the upward trajectory of Thistle since Archibald’s appointment, it logically follows that potential suitors will be waiting in the wings.

Perhaps the only surprise is that only Shrewsbury Town have been credited with a concrete interest in his services, but Archibald is in no rush to up sticks and leave his spiritual home.

“It’s always pleasing when someone recognises the job you’ve done at the club,” he admitted, “But the timing and everything else has to be right.

“I’ve got a good relationship here and you see other managers at different clubs who don’t have that.

“I’ve been in this job for a long time because the board have patience and they see the bigger picture of what we are trying to do.

“A lot of boards maybe would have sacked their manager when we were in our first season up and we couldn’t win at home and were struggling.

“The board stuck by me, as did the fans, and they understood that it was a longer-term project.

“If you’re ever going to leave somewhere then it’s got to be better than what you are coming from. You see a lot of managers making the mistake of going somewhere else and they last two or three months.

“I feel a responsibility to the club because I have been here such a long time. I’ve done well by them and they have done well by me.

"We’re all striving towards the one goal on and off the pitch, everyone is travelling on the one path. It would be a lot to give up."