PARTICK Thistle have got their four stars ...

now Gerry Britton wants to produce many more.

It may only be just over a year since the ThistleWeir Academy, a partnership between Partick Thistle and Euromillions winners Colin and Christine Weir, was formed, but significant strides have been made towards a bright future at Firhill.

Last week, the endeavours of Britton and his staff paid off as the club was awarded four-star status by the SFA, jumping two levels in one go and putting them amongst some of the most established set-ups in the country.

The money gifted to the Jags by the Weirs may only be a fraction of the £161million fortune the couple won, but the generous donation has been priceless for the Premiership club.

It has been invested in staff, kit and facilities, and allowed Britton's dreams to become a reality as he has overhauled a youth system that, for too long, was under-funded and under-utilised at Firhill.

"We have been working towards this for a while now, and we wouldn't have been able to do it without the financial backing," Britton told SportTimes. "That has meant a big increase in terms of the quality of coaches, facilities, sports science; it costs money to improve the service.

"When we got the backing of Colin and Christine, it meant we could go and do it. It is still a stringent process to meet the star ratings. You need to be audited, but we have got there. It sets a benchmark for all academies to get to and we have managed to do that. The staff have been terrific so we are delighted."

Thistle may be celebrating their new-found recognition, but they still face an anxious wait to discover if the benefits will be immediately felt.

As part of a plan put in place by former SFA Performance Director Mark Wotte, the academy structure in Scotland is set to change, with the top 14 teams poised to be pitted against each other for the next three seasons.

At present, there are a trio of teams waiting to discover if they, too, will reach the four-star level and that could push Thistle down the rankings and leave them on the outside looking in.

Britton said: "We will hopefully find out soon whether we will be in the top 14. We have done all we can do and put ourselves up there to hopefully be included.

"For us going forward, that is a must. The principle Wotte put forward is Best v Best. That is how he thinks players will develop and his main concern is getting more players into the international squads.

"We want our kids to play against the better academies, but it is important for us to attract players as well. It is so much easier if you are in the top tier. We have done all we can, so we are hoping for the best."

A place among Scotland's elite would be a fitting reward for the efforts of the ThistleWeir staff as the kids under their wing look to follow Stuart Bannigan's example and complete the journey through the ranks to the Jags first team.

The progress from where they were to where they are has been remarkable, but Britton is not content to settle as he strives for more success.

He said: "This time last year myself and Scott Allison were the only two licence holders, but three passed last week and we are up to 14.

"There has been a real exponential rise in everything in such a short space of time. It is a real credit to all the staff to push it through.

"We have done all we can now and it is vital we make that next step.

"If we had to sit for three years, it wouldn't be disastrous and we would still be able to bring the kids on, but it would be so much easier."