Ryan Edwards feels that Partick Thistle have gone back to living through their own personal Groundhog Day after they went down to a 2-0 defeat to Aberdeen on Saturday.

Second-half goals from substitutes Jayden Stockley and Ryan Christie settled the match, but that was only half the story as Thistle gave as good as they got for large spells of the game.

Indeed, Thistle had numerous chances to go ahead including a free header missed by Edwards himself, and even after they fell behind, Ade Azeez had a golden opportunity to draw them level that he squandered.

Alas, it was a familiar tale in the end though for the Jags as a more than creditable performance yielded little more than the admiration of Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes.

“It has a similar feeling to the start of the season where our performances were really good and we couldn’t get the result we wanted or our performances deserved,” Edwards said.

“We said after the game we have been in this situation before, at the start of the season, and we just have to keep going because we will get out of it. We need to be more clinical.

“It is a different story if we haven’t performed well and we have lost 2-0. We were brilliant up to when the first goal went in, we had really good chances, myself as well.

“It is just frustrating they are not going in at the minute.

“If you look at the league it is crazy with how close it is at the bottom. You don’t want to let others get away so we need to fix things and to start winning again quickly.

“Throughout my time at Thistle from the management team to the players there is a good environment. We have never felt sorry for ourselves and we have always believed in what we are trying to do.

“So far it has worked and we have got out of previous sticky situations.”

While pinpointing wasteful finishing as the cause of Thistle’s problems is simple enough, finding the remedy is an altogether different affair.

Edwards says that the Firhill attackers are working hard on their finishing in training, but he knows that they will have to continue to do so if their luck in front of goal is to change any time soon.

“You see my chance and that can go either side of the post and this time it went the other side,” he said.

“Ade’s hit the post while other teams can hit the post and it goes in. If it is just luck or whatever we just need to keep working hard.

“Goals are going in on training so we know we doing the right things. We have to have the belief that it will happen.”

The immediate focus for Thistle now shifts to the Scottish Cup, and a trip to Perth on Saturday to face St Johnstone.

The Saints may have been able to grind out a narrow win at Firhill last week, but McDiarmid Park has been a happy hunting ground for the Jags in recent times.

“We have had some really good games against St Johnstone,” added Edwards.

“Last season we beat them three times and this season it is two-one in games to them. We can take some encouragement from our last-minute winner there last time.

“We are focusing on trying to get a cup run. Thistle haven’t had one yet and it would be nice to get that win next week.

“If you look at past results, in the league, we haven’t scored for four games. But like any match, if you win it is a positive and if we can win we can take that into the league when we play Hamilton next.”