Stevie Lawless reckons he is only just starting to show his best form for Partick Thistle this season after a niggling hernia injury hampered the first half of his campaign.

The attacking midfielder eventually had to undergo surgery to fix a problem he had been trying to play through, but he finally feels as if he is getting up to full speed again.

And just in the nick of time too, as Thistle gear up for a fight on two fronts as they aim to secure a top-six finish and continue their Scottish Cup run all the way to Hampden.

“At the start of the season I didn’t feel as if I was doing myself or the team any justice, because I was just trying to get through games because of my injury,” Lawless said.

“Since then though I’ve managed to put in some good performances. They haven’t all been the best, but I’ve been looking for a bit of consistency and I think it’s starting to come now that I’m not hampered by that injury.

“It’s good that the manager has faith in me, and I think I’ve managed to put in some good performances recently that have kept me in the team,

“The gaffer will tell you, when I’m not in the team I’m straight in to see him! We’ve got a lot of boys like that though, and we’ve probably got 15 or 16 players here that feel they should be in the team from the start.

“That’s good for the team that we’ve got that competitiveness within the squad. I think it’s the strongest we’ve been since I’ve been at the club.

“We’ve got a lot of options all over, and I think it’s definitely the first time we’ve had so many options in the position that I’m playing.

“This year we have four or five boys that can play where I do, we’ve got so many options and you know you have to be performing at your best to stay in the team.”

It is normally at this time of year that Lawless has to face questions about his future, with his reluctance to commit to long-term contracts well-documented.

He bucked that trend by signing a two-year deal at Firhill last summer, although he isn’t sure if the new-found stability has helped him on the field.

“It’s strange, I’ve not really been in this position too much throughout my career, I usually prefer one-year deals,” he said.

“I don’t really know how much effect it’s had on my game to be fair, because I had that niggling injury at the start of the season and that’s affected me more than the contract situation.

“Now that’s out the way though we’ll see how I do in the second half of the season.”

Lawless acknowledges that the clash with second-bottom Hamilton on Saturday at Firhill could have a major bearing on Thistle’s season.

If they manage to get a crucial win, he hopes it will not only go some way to put any fears over the Jags Premiership status to bed, but set them up for an assault on the top six.

He said: “We’re trying not to focus on what this game means in terms of the league, we’re just trying to concentrate on our jobs, but obviously we know that it is a big game and we know how important it is.

“We know how tight it is in the league, so if we can put another run together then the league place will take care of itself.

“I think we’ve got more than enough to make the top half. We’ve been doing quite well in terms of our performances, we just have to take our chances and that goes for everyone in the team. We’re missing chances at vital moments.

“Hopefully though we can continue with the cup run and finish in the top six, I think we’ve got enough quality and that’s the aim.”