ALAN ARCHIBALD is not the only one at Firhill undertaking a building job this summer.

While the Partick Thistle boss attempts to put his plans in place ahead of their return to the SPL, work is being done to ensure the Jags' surroundings match their status next term.

The pitch on which Archibald's side lifted the Irn-Bru First Division title just a few weeks ago has already been ripped up and soon contractors will move into place to give Firhill a summer makeover.

Come the start of the 2013/14 campaign, a ticketless entry system will have been installed, a new pitch laid and Thistle's home will be feeling the benefits of a lick of paint and all-round spruce-up.

"There is a lot of work to be done," Thistle chairman David Beattie told SportTimes.

"We are relaying the pitch and putting fibre sand in it to ensure that it doesn't cut up as much.

"That is a huge project, there is about 400 tonnes of soil to be moved and we will level the pitch out in certain bits as well.

"We are taking it down about four inches and then relaying it. Work is getting carried out on the main stand as well. We are going to open up the Firhill Road entrance for directors and visiting directors and do some work on the old boardroom as well.

"There will be work done on the Aitken Suite, with a separate entrance. The Thistle directors will be sitting in the main stand again and the Jackie Husband Stand will be purely for corporate hospitality and press and stuff like that.

"It is a massive project, we have got a team of people starting next week and they will be here for three months painting, decorating and refurbishing. It is a massive job."

While money is being invested to ensure Firhill is gleaming for its first taste of SPL action in nearly a decade later this year, it is Archibald who has the most cash to play with this summer.

Contract offers have been made to those Archibald wishes to keep for next term but the deals remain unsigned so far.

Beattie said: "We are still in contract negotiations with the players. I think they deserve to have more and we are offering them more. Whether we can offer them as much as they want, that is always the conundrum.

"We have to ensure that the business side of the club is still run properly. Anything that is left goes to the manager and his playing budget. It will double next year. We can only cut our cloth accordingly."

Having spent so long trying to get out of our second tier, Thistle finally find themselves back in the big time once again.

It is an opportunity for Archibald and his players to showcase their talents on a grander stage, but Beattie knows the added kudos of being part of Scottish football's top flight will increase the workload right across the club.

He said: "There is probably more pressure being the chairman of an SPL club, and I don't mean that disrespectfully to anybody. It is a different level.

"You're chairman of a bigger organisation, there are more people, more fans, more responsibility.

"There is going to be more pressure but, for the good of the club, I welcome that. It will take up a lot of my time but we have got a great infrastructure here, we all work together at Partick Thistle.

"We will resource more people for the back office side of things, we will have more people in marketing, sales, admin, we have to step it up a bit. There is a lot more work involved."

One area where more finance and hours will be invested is youth development, with Jags set to field an Under-20 side amongst our top teams next term.

The step up to the SPL enhances their short-term prospects but Beattie is determined to look at the bigger picture.

He said: "It is something that we are very passionate about. We are going to be expanding the number of youth teams we have and we will put more resource into that.

"We will bring in more coaching staff and more scouts. Thistle is a great brand and we want to expand that.

"Stuart Bannigan came through the system and into the first team. If we continue to do that, and on a bigger scale, then great.

"It is a slow burn but we are putting the building blocks in place and I am very excited about the future."