ALAN ARCHIBALD has thanked the Partick Thistle board for standing by him during the Jags' relegation battle.

The Firhill boss led his side to SPFL Premiership safety as they avoided the play-off berth.

It took Thistle several months to earn their first home win in the top flight as they were embroiled in a fight for survival.

And Archibald admits the support from the Jags board and Firhill stands was crucial to the cause.

He said: "In football you always expect people to be talking about your job, that is the way the game is.

"Part of my remit when I got the job was to play good football and put a good product on the park and that is what we did.

"If we hadn't done that, and were going through the run we were, we would have been under a lot more pressure.

"To be fair to the fans, they stuck by us. Normally you get the grumbles and moans a lot worse than we did.

"We didn't really get it and it didn't affect the players, they still played the same way and with confidence even though they weren't getting results.

"I was delighted the board backed us. It settles a lot of people down.

"You can't get away from the whispers and the murmurs when you are on a bad run.

"But the board backed us and settled all that down, it put everyone's mind at ease and let us get on with it.

"It was great having that backing. They said when I was appointed that as long as I was doing it the way I said we would then we would be fine. They stuck to their word.

"Everyone looks back and says they could have done things better but they have been at the games and seen what has been going on on the pitch.

"They stuck by us and we were delighted with that."