NIALL KEOWN has not ruled returning to Partick Thistle next season especially if his parent club Reading get to the English Premier League.

The centre-half is honest enough to admit that if Reading beat Huddersfield Town at Wembley then the chances of him making the first-team will be greatly reduced given how much silly money will pour in following promotion.

Keown, 22, signed on loan at Thistle in January and has proven himself to be an excellent defender in the mould of his old man, Martin, and if the chance of an extended stay in Maryhill came up then it would definitely suit a player who has come to love Scottish football.

“It’s not necessarily the end for me at Thistle at all,” he said. “I will speak to Reading over the summer. They are fighting for promotion and their plans are up in the air. I will sit down and discuss what they want from me. If it’s not regular football there, I will go on loan again.

“I’ll speak to Thistle, I’ll speak to Reading, listen to their suggestions and then make a decision. I’m open to what happens and I’ve been open with Alan Archibald. We will see what happens over the summer.

“If Reading do go up it will make it more difficult for me to get a game there. They will have the money to go and buy new players. Such is the gap between the Championship and the Premiership, you have to spend that money to improve your squad if you want to survive.

“That will be the case if Reading do go up but I will be cheering them on.”

Keown has been good for Archibald and his team and, in turn, they have been good for him.

All a player needs, really, is to play football, which he has done admirably, and he was crucial in Thistle’s push for the top six which, while they ran out steam after the split, was an incredible achievement.

“It’s been a great move for me. I’ve had a brilliant four months at the club,” said Keown. “Between January and March, we conceded very few goals and picked up some good results. That meant we were able to achieve what we wanted and finish in the top six.

“Personally, the experience of getting regular games has been great. I want to thank the club and the fans. The support they have given me has been incredible.”

Alas for the Maryhill’s finest, the top six has been tricky. The final two games saw them ship eleven goals and while the supporters are smart enough to get that their team are not deserving of serious criticism, losing 6-0 to Aberdeen on Sunday was a sore one.

Keown admitted: “There wasn’t much to say about the Aberdeen game. It was a shame to finish such a good season in that way. There wasn’t much said in the dressing-room. It’s been a record-breaking season, but it’s hard.

“Over the course of the season, there is so much to be positive about. We will all look back in years to come and say, ‘That was a really successful season’. But losing the last game 6-0 is far from acceptable.

“If the fans had gone home, then we’d have accepted that. Thankfully, they saw beyond what happened against Aberdeen. They were applauding for the achievements of the season and that gave us a lift at the end.

“They have been fantastic, they have really supported us and we are just apologetic that we couldn’t make them happier.”