Adam Barton picked up the McCrea Financial Services Partick Thistle player of the year award on Sunday night, rounding off a fantastic season both personally and for his team.

And he says that the reason his debut campaign in the Scottish Premiership has gone so well is down to the family spirit within the Firhill changing room and the stability within the team.

The midfielder, who has also played at centre-half this term, arrived at the club from Portsmouth last August, and he has impressed with his composed style and passing ability.

And he has thanked his teammates and his manager for making his transition to the Scottish game such a smooth one.

“To find out I had won the award was absolutely brilliant, what a way for me to end the season on a personal note,” Barton said.

“I know the way I play is slightly different from most people with the relaxed style I’ve got, you could say.

“I think that surprised some people at first and it may have taken a bit of time to get used to, but once you’re used to seeing it all the time it’s just the same old me.

“People say that the game up here is different from down south, but it’s a game of football to me at the end of the day.

“I came here with an open mind, I’d obviously never played here before and to be honest, I hadn’t really watched a lot of the football up here. So, I didn’t know what to expect.

“It’s been pretty similar though, you do the exact same things up here as you do down south.

“I’ve taken to it well, and I came up here to prove a point that I could still do it and to play week-in, week-out, which I’m doing, and that was my goal.

“One of the key things that has helped us as a team to have a good season is the stability at the club. That’s something that the manager and Ian Maxwell said to me when I signed, was that they were signing players on longer contracts just to get that stability.

“That’s such a good thing to have in football. Obviously, there are going to be changes here and there, but if you can keep a core of a team together then it’s so good for the players that are here.

“We know each other so well and we know how each other work and play. We’re all close friends and we want to win for each other.

“Toward the end of the season with the run we’ve had, that’s how everything has felt. We go into the changing room at the end of the games and we congratulate each other like we would do our family.

“It’s a really good vibe that we have around the place.”

The Jags kicked off their top-six fixtures with a hard-fought draw at Tynecastle on Saturday, and they will now look to take points off of Rangers for the first time this season on Sunday.

Barton and the rest of the players are enjoying the bigger fixtures that have come as a reward for their hard work thus far, and he knows that topping this dream campaign will take some doing next season.

“That’s the challenge,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to top this season, it’s going to be very difficult for all of us, but especially in getting this award too.

“You can always get better though and every player strives to get better. Hopefully we can have an even better season, get top six again and maybe even better than that.

"The season so far has been brilliant, and listening to the fans and the players who have been here for a while helps you to appreciate just how good a season it has been.

“You can’t take anything away from the players and the manager for what we’ve achieved.”