Partick Thistle have been dealt a major blow after Tomas Cerny opted to trigger a relegation clause in his contract and leave Firhill in the wake of the club’s relegation from the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Having already freed deputy goalkeeper Ryan Scully following the club’s drop into the Championship, Thistle have now lost their No 1 as life outside the top flight continues to bring changes to personnel.

Cerny, who signed on at Thistle in 2015 after his contract at Hibernian came to an end, made 105 appearances for Alan Archibald’s team and had agreed an extension to his deal with the Glasgow club last year until the summer of 2019.

But a calamitous play-off defeat over two legs to Livingston, which condemned Thistle to relegation at the end of as dismal campaign, has led to the 33-year-old Czech custodian seeking pastures new with a move to Finland on the cards.

A Thistle statement read: “The board of directors and management would like to thank Tomáš for his service to Partick Thistle Football Club.

“All other players with a relegation release clause in their contract have confirmed their commitment to the club for the 2018/19 season.”

Chris Erskine was one of those players with a similar clause but has already stated his intention to stay with Thistle. Aussie Ryan Edwards, another with a relegation clause in his deal, opted to seek a new challenge elsewhere.

The loss of the experienced Cerny, however, will be viewed as a sizeable set-back as Archibald looks to rebuild for a promotion push in the second-tier.