Stevie Lawless was once renowned for insisting upon signing one-year deals, so it is quite the turn-up for the books that he is a man who now lauds the merits of stability.

But after racking up his 200th appearance for Partick Thistle last weekend, it is that stability that Lawless says has been the key to his longevity at Firhill.

With manager Alan Archibald now being in charge of the Jags for over four and a half years, Lawless feels settled working under his boss and settled at the club. So much so, he broke with tradition to sign a two-year contract last summer.

And he sees more good times ahead with Archibald at the helm, with him pulling the strings in behind the Thistle attack, for a long time to come.

“It’s one of those things you don’t really notice when you’re playing away but it’s a good milestone for me,” Lawless said.

“I didn’t see myself doing this when I signed for the club five years ago – I don’t think anyone looks that far ahead.

“You just take it as it comes but, obviously, it’s a good achievement and something I can look back on at the end of my career.

“It’s just a good environment to work in and most of the boys would tell you that. It’s been like that from day one for me and I think it’s helped, in terms of stability, that the gaffer has been here for so long as well.

“When managers leave you tend to find the new man bringing in a lot of players as well and the fact we haven’t had that churn has been a big plus for us.

“You look at other clubs where new guys came in and brought in players they’d worked with before at short notice and it hasn’t worked out for them.

“However, because the gaffer’s been here for so long he knows the wee things which need to be tweaked for the season ahead and that can only help the club.”

There was speculation over Lawless’s future last year when then-Inverness boss John Hughes publicly stated his interest in the 26-year-old, as well as teammates Stuart Bannigan and Abdul Osman.

But there was never any real danger of any member of the trio swapping Maryhill for the Highlands.

“I think they were interested but I didn’t know much about it,” Lawless said. “There wasn’t any contact and the first I heard about it was when Yogi mentioned it in the press, so it wasn’t really an option for me.

“Anyway, once I spoke to the gaffer I was always going to be staying here. Yogi said he was going to come in for three of us but, if you ask the other two, they didn’t know anything about it either.

“It was a strange one but I was happy to sign my new deal here.”

Game number 201 for Lawless is a tough home fixture against high-flying Aberdeen, but it is one that Thistle could really do with getting something from after three defeats from three so far in the league.

Lawless knows that won’t be easy, particularly as Derek McInnes has managed to compensate for the loss of key players over the summer.

But he believes that the Dons won’t relish the trip to Firhill, and he is praying that this is the week the Jags get off the mark.

“Aberdeen are stronger this season,” he said. “They have recruited really well.

“They lost a few players and you wondered how they were going to react to that.

“I can’t really say too much because I haven’t played against them yet but looking at their team on paper they look stronger and have more options.

“It’s no longer down to one or two players. Last season a lot of their play went through Jonny Hayes but now they look more of a team.”