IAN MAXWELL admits Partick Thistle had little choice but to hand over the Jackie Husband Stand to Celtic supporters next term.

The Jags board yesterday wrote to season ticket holders advising them of a plan that will see home fans moved to the North Stand or Main Stand for the scheduled two matches against Ronny Deila's side.

If Rangers can emerge through the play-offs in the coming weeks, the Light Blues fans will also be given the JHS when they head across the city on Premiership duty.

The switches could be worth around £250,000 to the club in extra ticket sales and hospitality income and boost Thistle's revenue by around 10 per cent.

The JHS was less than half full when Celtic last played at Firhill in February, and managing director Maxwell knows the Jags must explore all options open to them after seeing home gates fall by around 600 fans this season.

He said: "Ultimately, football is a business. Some clubs don't run as a business but, for the last number of years, we have. If you said to any business in the world that you could increase their turnover by around 10 per cent, no business in their right mind can say no to that.

"We are not saying it is a permanent solution. The day we can fill that stand with Thistle fans and we don't need to worry about Celtic fans coming at all, perfect.

"But, in the short term, we can't guarantee that is going to happen. We can't guarantee that Celtic fans will fill it, it might not work, but we are not in a position not to try it."

Thistle will play their final home game of the campaign against Kilmarnock this afternoon knowing victory could keep alive their faint hopes of a seventh-place finish.

It has been an encouraging campaign for Alan Archibald's side, but Maxwell is frustrated to see home crowds tailing off to the extent they have done.

He said: "It is difficult to gauge why because, on the park, we have done well. We are looking at other things surrounding the match day and what people can do on a Saturday so that they are not just turning up, watching the game and going home again.

"If we get the 600 back, we will then have a decision to make as to whether we move the home fans again to kick us on, or we will see if it has been disruptive for home fans. That is a decision we can make at the time, but it is one that has really been made for us this season."

Having secured their Premiership status for another season, Thistle have wasted little time in bolstering their ranks for the new campaign.

Yesterday they completed a deal to retain influential midfielder Abdul Osman for a further 12 months after Christie Elliott and Callum Booth signed on earlier this week.

And Maxwell insists every click of the turnstile will see pound coins put into Archi-bald's transfer kitty. He said: "Our budget is based on the numbers this year, that is the only way we can do it.

"If we can get towards a 3000 average every week, even putting 300 on at £20 in the seven or eight games before January, that could mean we can say to the manager 'we are doing OK, go and get a couple of players in' and that could push us higher.

"A couple of hundred doesn't sound like a lot, but it is. They are out there. It is about getting them into a habit, turning them into a half-season ticket buyer, a full season ticket buyer and becoming a regular here."

*Partick Thistle will reward fans for their backing this season when they face Kilmarnock in the final Firhill fixture of the campaign this afternoon. Jags fans will be given a card with discount vouchers for Knock Castle and Spa, The Wheel Specialists and the Q Club, plus many more outlets, worth more than £22 and a clacker to raise the roof and cheer on Alan Archibald's side.