Danny Devine may be accurate in his assertion that Partick Thistle didn’t look like the Premiership’s bottom side against Celtic on Tuesday night.

But the defender was equally spot on with his assessment of his team’s current predicament, acknowledging that for all their impressive build-up play, they will be in serious trouble if they don’t start taking their chances.

It was a familiar story for the watching Thistle fans at Celtic Park, with a number of golden opportunities being squandered and the Jags coming away empty-handed from a game they competed well in.

“I think anyone watching the game and the two sides wouldn’t have put us rock bottom of the table,” Devine said.

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“In the dressing room there’s still that confidence that we can get out of it because we are playing so well and we are creating chances.

“It’s getting to the point of the season now though where we know that’s not enough, and we have to start turning chances into goals. If we can do that then I’m more than confident we can start climbing the table.

“The next game away to Ross County is a big one for us, and there are a couple after that against teams around about us.

“It’s a big period for us, so we have to put the Celtic game to the back of our minds and just look forward to Ross County.

“If we can go up there and put in the same performance then I’m more than confident that we’ll get the win.”

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Of the chances that Thistle created on the night at Celtic Park, the ones that were squandered by Ade Azeez and Ziggy Gordon were particularly wasteful.

Devine says though that no one is pointing any fingers of blame at individuals within the Firhill dressing room.

“Any player would blame themselves, but at the end of the day we’re a team and they are our teammates,” he said. “We have to rally around them and keep pushing them.

“Hopefully one will go in one week and the floodgates will open for them.

“It’s not often you come away from Celtic Park disappointed, but we felt we played well enough on the night to maybe nick a point.

“Coming here with the quality they’ve got, the chances they have they take them.

“We could have caved after they took the lead, a lot of teams will come here and do that, but I thought we responded well.

“We knew if we stayed in the game we’d get a chance, and we ended up getting a couple of chances and it’s the story of our season so far this year.

“Until we get to the final third there’s some good play, and there was some good play on the night out there, so it’s really frustrating for the whole team.

“It’s just that final ball, that final effort on goal, we need to start turning them into goals otherwise we’re going to struggle.”

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Of course, Thistle’s problems are not just confined to the final third of the pitch, with a defensive lapse on Tuesday night again costing Alan Archibald’s men dearly.

Scott Sinclair managed to get free to get on the end of a simple set-piece from Liam Henderson, and that slip in concentration ultimately was the difference between the sides.

“It’s always disappointing conceding from a set-piece,” Devine said. “Everyone has their man and everyone knows their job, but Scott Sinclair just got a half yard and he puts it away.

“That’s the quality they’ve got in their team, we just need to stay switched on every second when we come to places like this because they’ve got that quality.”