Niall Keown has revealed that the faith manager Alan Archibald has placed in him was a major factor behind his decision to rejoin Partick Thistle on a permanent deal.

The defender left Reading and put pen to paper on a two-year deal at Firhill on Saturday after a hugely successful loan spell in the second half of last season.

Such was Keown’s impact in his short spell north of the border, Thistle’s capture of the defender on a permanent deal has been viewed as a real coup for the club.

And the 22-year-old is sure that he can produce his best form again working under a manager who has shown such confidence in him.

“When you are a player, the most important thing to have is a manager that has that faith in you, and the manager trusted me when I didn’t have a whole lot of experience last year,” Keown said.

“I really enjoyed playing under him and that is such a key factor when a player is making a decision on where he wants to play his football.

“I think people are probably aware that there has been quite a lot of interest in the manager, but he’s still at the club and I don’t see any reason why he won’t be there for the foreseeable future.

“That was definitely a big factor in me signing for the club.

“But it wasn’t a difficult decision. I really enjoyed my time at the club last season, I got on really well with all of the players and really enjoyed working with all of the staff.

“I loved working under the manager and the fans were great with me too. It was a very successful season last year.

“When it came to making a decision at the end of the season and I went back to Reading, it was clear to me that I wasn’t going to get the opportunities that I felt I was ready for.

“So, I’m very excited to return to Firhill and build upon that very successful season that we had.”

Keown is disappointed that he won’t be teaming up again with Liam Lindsay, who left the club for Barnsley earlier in the summer.

But while he is sure that his former teammate will be a success in the English Championship, he is equally certain that Thistle can cope with his departure from their defence.

And he says that the fact Lindsay earned such a move while playing for Thistle is a massive feather in the club’s cap, and may persuade other young players to join in the future.

“I’m sure we’ll be flexible enough to cope with Liam going,” he said. “We played a back three at times last season and sometimes four at the back with me and Dan (Devine) playing alongside each other.

“We all had a great relationship at the back, and me and Dan are obviously still there, and Barts (Adam Barton) can always play between us which he has done at times.

“We know as a defensive unit that we all need to step up now and show more leadership and take more ownership of what we’re doing at the back to make sure that we’re no worse off than last season.

“I think Liam will cope well down there, and it’s also great for the club when a player attracts such interest.

“Liam was great last season and I think he’ll cope absolutely fine with that league, and I think we’re all excited to see how he gets on.

“If clubs in England aren’t watching the games in Scotland, then they aren’t doing their jobs properly. From what I’ve seen, there is a lot of interest in the league from down south and that’s been proven with Liam’s move.

“Every player wants to maximise his potential and get to the highest level they possibly can. For me, this is a great opportunity at Partick Thistle where every player and the club can carry on moving forward.”