HE has never picked a team, made a last ditch tackle or scored a goal.

Alan Robertson has more than made his mark and played his part for Partick Thistle, though.

After four decades of service, the man known affectionately as 'The Doc' will have his place in Firhill folklore enshrined as he is inducted into the Jags Hall of Fame later this month.

It will put him alongside the players he cheered on from the stands and the touchline, the men he got to know professionally and personally, and mark another proud moment for a Jag who has dedicated his life to his club.

While Thistle fans will be able to recall the finest moments in red and yellow of the other three inductees - Gerry Britton, Kenny Arthur and Andy Anderson - on the night, there will be no highlight reel of Robertson's Thistle career.

That doesn't diminish the importance of the club's Honorary Medical Officer, however, as the 18 managers he has worked under and the hundreds of players who have been in his care will testify.

"It is a terrific honour and I am thrilled to bits," Robertson told SportTimes.

"I have been a Thistle supporter since I was ten and to be associated with the club for all these years has been a dream come true. I didn't make it as a player but this is the next best thing.

"I found out a couple of weeks ago, Robert Reid phoned to tell me and naturally I was thrilled.

"I started watching football in the good old days in the 50s and saw guys like Johnny MacKenzie, Willie Sharp, Tommy Ewing and they were my heroes. It is great that I will be in the Hall of Fame with them.

"Jimmy Bone was another of my heroes and he is there as well. It will be a proud night for me."

The moment that Robertson's picture is unveiled and his place amongst the Thistle greats is confirmed will mark another milestone in his association with his boyhood heroes.

A chance meeting with Miller Reid while on holiday in Portugal opened the doors to Firhill for the first time for Robertson and he has been an integral part of the Thistle staff since 1974.

As all Jags fans will testify, the going is rarely smooth on the red and yellow rollercoaster ride but the highs - from league wins to Intertoto Cup appearances - are cherished by Robertson.

From Bertie Auld to Alan Archibald, The Doc has served them all, and he cites the influences of those around him, the team of physios - the likes of Donnie McKinnon, John Hart, George Hannah, Kenny Crichton and current incumbent Marcin Szostak - that patch up players and get them back on the front line.

But the one that didn't return to action continues to resonate amongst the euphoria and the memories.

"I have been up and down with Thistle," Robertson said. "We have had a few bad relegations but a few great promotions and it is great to be back in the top division again.

"I was there in '71 as a supporter and that is obviously a highlight. There are so many highs.

"We had a great night at Tynecastle last season when we beat Hearts to confirm that we were staying up for another year.

"I was so pleased for the manager and the players. That was a great night.

"The day we won the league at Falkirk was a very special occasion, too. I was on the pitch with the players with my scarf on and that was a great day.

"The lowest moment was when Alan Morgan's career was ended with a really severe injury at Firhill. He had a terrible injury.

"He jumped over a player and did his knee to such an extent that his career was over.

"That was a real low moment for the whole club, it was horrible to see that kind of thing happen."

Having seen generations of players and managers come and go, Robertson is more than due his night in the spotlight and place amongst the Jags' greats.

He has helped to heal physical wounds as well as mental ones, has become a friend as well as a crucial member of staff and shows no signs of slowing down as he combines his Firhill role with his own Practice in Glasgow.

"I still keep in touch with a lot of the former players and a lot of them still come to me for help," he said.

"That is pleasing, it is nice that people respect my abilities like that. It is nice when you go to games and you bump into people after so many years."

After more than 40 years of service, the moment will one day come when Robertson steps away from the Firhill treatment table.

He has no plans to stop just yet but it would be fitting if Archibald turns out to be the final Thistle boss he works under.

Robertson said: "I remember him as a young boy coming in to the club. At games, the apprentices used to carry the kit and he helped out.

"When he got his chance to play, he never looked back. I have watched his career blossom.

"He has done fantastically well and he is a great man.

"He has done so much for the club as a player, as a captain, and now as a manager. He has done a great job."

*Tickets for the Partick Thistle Hall of Fame dinner on Friday, April 24, are on sale for £45 per person or £550 for a corporate table, which includes a champagne reception with Jags directors and the inductees before the event. To book, call 0141 579 1971