Partick Thistle skipper Abdul Osman is hoping to lead by example again in Perth this weekend as the Jags look to book a place in the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

Thistle face St Johnstone today for the second time in quick succession following a league encounter last week which ended with a narrow Saints victory at Firhill.

The last time the sides met in Perth last October, it was Thistle who were celebrating as Osman pounced in injury-time to clinch a dramatic 2-1 victory for Alan Archibald’s team

And the 29-year-old is hoping to conquer in the Fair City again today and inch the Jags closer to Hampden.

He said: “This is a game we can win. We won the last time we were there and we can do that again.

“I wouldn’t say St Johnstone are awkward to play against but they are very organised. They use two hard-working banks of four, with everyone knowing what they’re supposed to do for the team.

“Their strikers are the ones who cause you problems and, if you can keep them quiet, you have a chance against them.

“But we’ve got a decent record against them so we’ll not be going up there afraid; we’ll be going there with confidence.

“Obviously, we know we’re not going to win the league so having a cup run is important, especially for the fans. We’re considered to be a small team so to bring them some success would be great.

“As it stands, we’re potentially only three games away from the final but we’ve got to get St Johnstone out of the way first and then see who we get in the next round.

“I’ve enjoyed having the armband. Ever since the gaffer gave me the captaincy I’ve thrived on the responsibility. I like it and I’ve found the job easy because we have a lot of leaders in our dressing room.

“As a result, it hasn’t been a problem for me. I’m not the type of captain who pins players against a wall. We have a lot of younger players in our squad so it’s been more a case of putting an arm round their shoulders and encouraging them. I’m more like that as a person anyway.”

After an injury lay-off, Osman is back to full fitness and he enjoyed a couple of days off recently with a visit to see Matthias Pogba, his old Thistle team-mate.

Pogba is currently playing for Sparta Rotterdam in the Dutch top flight but Osman still prefers the cut-and-thrust and the rough and tumble of the Scottish game.

He added: “Matthias is doing well over there, which is good, but I don’t know if I would fancy playing in the Eredivise.

“I’ve already played in Greece and it’s different over there. It’s different everywhere you go but watching Dutch football is something else again.

“The tempo is really slow , it’s very tactical, it’s just a different ball game all together. To be honest, I prefer the style here.”

Osman’s most cherished Cup memory is scoring the clincher for Northampton Town in a penalty shoot-out with Liverpool at Anfield as the Cobblers claimed a major scalp in the 2010 Carling Cup.

Osman said: “I took the winning kick in front of the Kop. I kept my composure and stuck the ball in the net. That is definitely the highlight of my career. I’d love to have some more recent cup memories than that, though.”