Partick Thistle playmaker Stevie Lawless has hailed hitman Kris Doolan after the forward bagged his 100th goal for the club against Ross County on Saturday.

Doolan hit a double to turn the match at Firhill on its’ head after Craig Curran had put the visitors ahead just before the hour.

That puts him in an exclusive club of players who have reached the century milestone for the Jags, with Davie McParland the last man to achieve the feat back in the 1960s.

That led Lawless to eulogise about his friend and teammate, who he ranks right up there among the club’s greats.

“He produced two great finishes and got us the three points,” Lawless said. “It was not a pretty game to watch, but he had the quality to get us the three points.

“I think we showed good character. It helps when you have someone up front like Dools, who can put them away like that.

“They were two great finishes. The second one is a brilliant goal for us. It helps that he has managed to save those two for an occasion like this and I am happy for him and the boys.

“Not many forwards in the game score 100 goals, especially for the same club. It is a great achievement.

“I don’t know how many goals he was on when I came here, but I think he’d bagged a few in the Juniors as well. I think he is saying he is on 300 or something for the career now, so I will have to check that up.

“He knows his game. He is not going to chase into the channels. It is all about getting good supply into his feet.

“He has been in double figures every season I have been here and that is a great return. We would be pushing a little bit higher if we spread the goals throughout the team, though.”

Lawless is surprised and delighted that Thistle have managed to hold on to Doolan for so long after giving him his chance in professional football from Auchinleck Talbot back in 2009.

“I am good friends with him and I know that there has been interest there,” he said.

“There have been times where it might have happened, but he has been here so long now that he is part of the furniture. I don’t think there is any chance of him leaving.

“He is definitely getting slower! I don’t know about getting better. If you notice, he only wears white boots because he feels faster in them. There’s a wee secret for you. He won’t be happy about that."

The three points picked up against County moved Thistle four clear of seventh-placed Kilmarnock, but Lawless isn’t taking anything for granted just yet.

He did admit though that he has one eye on Hearts in fifth, as well as on the teams below.

“As long as we get into the top six, it gives us another game against them and gives us a better chance,” he said. “We have to make sure we are there, though.

“We were close to the top six last season and missed out by a goal. It was Ross County that done us out of it, so this was a bit of revenge.

“I think there has been a bit of progression every year at the club, though. Last season was the first time we’d had a chance of the top six and we have put ourselves in a very good position this year. I hope we can take it.”