STEVEN LAWLESS is confident there is plenty more to come from new Jags strike star Lyle Taylor after he bagged a double on his Firhill bow against Ross County.

The former Falkirk forward has made a superb start to life at Partick Thistle after penning a loan deal from Sheffield United at the start of the month, and took his tally to three goals in two games with a weekend brace against the Staggies.

Despite Taylor's scoring exploits, Alan Archibald's side were again left frustrated as they surrendered a 3-1 lead to take only a point from their County clash and remain 10th in the SPFL Premiership standings.

The arrival of Taylor has seen Thistle's top scorer, Kris Doolan, consigned to the bench so far this year, but Lawless reckons the Jags have the firepower to succeed.

He said: "We knew from last season that Lyle is a good player. He is getting into good positions and has got himself three goals now. Long may that continue and hopefully he can help us get up the league table.

"It is harsh on Kris, but Lyle gives us another option and has done well since coming in. With Kris coming off the bench, he can still bring a lot to the team.

"Hopefully the two of them can chip in and get a lot of goals for us. If Lyle keeps scoring goals or Kris does even better and gets back in, it will only be good for the team to have them both in form."

After seeing another two points slip through their grasp, Thistle missed the chance to put breathing space between themselves and Derek Adams' side in the battle to avoid the relegation play-off spot.

They face bottom-six rivals Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and St Mirren in the coming weeks and Lawless is determined to build some momentum this month.

He said: "At 3-1, we should have closed the game out. We will think of the positives and move on. Things could have been a lot worse, but it could have been better because we have dropped a couple of points we should have taken.

"It has been the story of our season, there are a lot of points we should have picked up but haven't.

"Four points from two games isn't bad and, hopefully, we can kick on in the next few weeks now and make it even better."

Next up for Archibald's side is another crucial Premiership clash with Killie this weekend as the battle to avoid the drop heats up.

The Jags have yet to taste victory on home soil this term and Lawless, who looked to have clinched the win when he put Thistle 3-1 up just after the break, is eager to avoid further Firhill heartache.

He said: "We have to start putting in a complete performance and get that win here. We have another chance on Saturday and we will work hard in training to try and put things right. Hopefully we can combine the two things, play well and get the result.

"Our home record was really good last season and we know it should be better than it is this year. We should have won on Saturday.

"We have another chance now, and I am confident that if we get into that position again, we will make the most of it."