FEW Partick Thistle stars are likely to follow in the footsteps of MarioGoetze.

But Firhill youth coach Scott Allison hopes his Jags kids will be inspired by the Germany World Cup winner’s path to glory.

After guiding his side to success in the Foyle Cup, Allison saw his Under-18s side reach the semi-finals of the Milk Cup last week.

A superb spell in Northern Ireland came to an end against Manchester United in the semi-finals.

But youth chief Allison is confident the experience will stand his Partick protégés in good stead.

“It is a great tournament to be involved in,” he said.

“When I was with Livingston, we played against Barcelona and the likes of Sergio Busquets.

“When we came back, guys like Murray Davidson just kicked on and they knew they could make it as footballers.

“Hopefully this has the same impact here.

“You get a programme at the start of the week and in the one from 2008 was Mario Goetze, who was at Dortmund at the time.

“We said to the boys ‘this guy was here a couple of years ago and now he is scoring goals in the World Cup.’

“It will happen. Some of the Man Utd boys will be top players, as will the lads from CSKA Moscow.

“For our kids to go and compete with them and match them can only bode well for us and them.”

Thistle beat a side from the Craig Bellamy Foundation in Sierra Leone before drawing with County Down and overcoming Russian side Chertanova to set up their United clash.

The likes of Newcastle, Benfica and Espanyol all fielded teams in the cup.

And Allison admits it was an invaluable experience for his Jags kids, many of whom can turn out for another two years at this age level.

]He said: “They are playing against bigger lads and it prepares them for first team football when it comes because they can see that they can compete with older, stronger players.

“When you see Man Utd play, it is the movement off the ball that you notice.

“We tell the kids all the time about movement off the ball and they think ‘aye, aye, they are going on about that again’.  But when they see these top

level youth players and the movement and speed that they do things, even the physical make-up of the players, they take note of it.

“For us as coaches it is great. We are always saying that is what they need to get to the top level but now they see it and think ‘maybe they are right’.”

Thistle’s success across the water comes just months after the club overhauled their youth setup.

And Allison is confident the future is bright at Firhill for the next batch of budding Jags stars.

He said: “We are only one year into the ThistleWeir setup and the success we have had at the Foyle Cup and the Milk Cup has really set us for the season and given the boys confidence.

“They realise now that they can compete with these teams. It has given them a great platform to kick on.

“It all starts with the structure. Gerry Britton has put a lot of hard work in and we have got a lot of great people here. The structure is very professional.

“We had the kids in almost like full-time pros for the pre-season. We did a lot of work on their fitness and the style of play.

“Everything is starting to come together and it is all linked with the first team in terms of how we play.

“The signs are good but we have got a lot of hard work ahead of us.”