Partick Thistle managing director Ian Maxwell has assured supporters that the club are increasing their player budget, despite Freddie Frans rejecting a new contract offer on reduced terms.

The Belgian re-joined former club Lierse in his homeland on Monday, stating that he couldn’t accept the pay cut that was tabled by Thistle. Fellow defender Gary Miller yesterday also rejected a new deal offered to him by the club.

With Dan Seaborne having already departed and goalkeeping coach Paul Gallacher also leaving, Maxwell has moved to allay any fears supporters may have about the composition of Alan Archibald’s squad for next season.

He said: “We made Freddie an offer based on what we thought he was worth to the team. If you think back to when Freddie signed, we were struggling a bit for centre-backs.

“We got Dan in from down south and he was on a good deal, and we got Freddie in who ended up being on a right good deal.

“We looked at the playing budget this year and we just thought that we wanted to try and spread it out a bit more.

“The deal we offered Freddie was a good deal, we didn’t slash his wages or anything like that, but we have Liam Lindsay under contract and Freddie really wasn’t a regular starter last season for one reason or another.

“Dan was playing, Liam was playing, he had one or two injuries, so we made him an offer that we felt was fair. To be fair to him, he got offered a great deal in Belgium and it’s just one of those things.

“Even if we had offered him what he was on I don’t think he would have stayed because he got offered double that in Belgium.

“It’s not a reflection on our playing budget. We’ve re-signed Abdul Osman, we’ve re-signed Stevie Lawless, and we’ve got Chris Erskine coming in.

“The people you re-sign cost you money because they always want a bit more to stay. Sometimes you’ve got to take a look at the squad and make a calculated risk in terms of what is out there and what positions we need to fill.

“We’re trying to improve the playing budget. We’ve got the player fund which is in its’ infancy but is going ok.

“Things have changed for us since we signed Freddie. We didn’t just offer Freddie a contract and if he refuses it we’re snookered, there’s things we’re working on behind the scenes to try and get better players in.”

That emphasis on quality is something that Maxwell is keen to highlight, as he feels that improving the calibre of player at both ends of the park is key to Thistle finally breaking into the top half of the table.

“We got to the point last year where we weren’t far away from finishing in the top six,” he said, “So we’re not necessarily looking to increase the numbers in the squad, but maybe trying to increase a wee bit of the quality.

“I can understand why supporters get a bit nervous, but what I would say to them is that our recruitment has usually been successful. Everyone would love us to go and sign four or five over the summer, but the way we’ve done it this season means that we’re not in that position because we’ve got 15 guys under contract.

“We’re just trying to fill in certain areas, and that gives us more scope to take a bit of time about it to make sure we get it right.

“In previous seasons we maybe had to rush it and go out and sign 10 or 12 players, and you end up taking a few gambles. We’ve got a list of guys that we’re either in discussions with, or we’re waiting on them or their agents to come back from their holidays.

“The record the manager has got is good with signings, and everyone just needs to trust him.”

Midfielder David Wilson meanwhile has agreed a one-year extension to his contract at Firhill. The 22-year-old made 12 appearances for the Jags last season.