Partick Thistle chairman David Beattie has stepped down from his role at the club and been replaced by director Jacqui Low.

Director, Greig Brown, has also stepped down from the Firhill club's board.

Partick Thistle, relegated to the Scottish Championship in May, said that having spent 11 years on the board – seven of them as chair, Beattie has decided that "the time is right to hand over to a new chairman to take Thistle on to the next stage in its development".

Brown, who served on the board for seven years, has resigned "due to increased work commitments".

Beattie said: “While I am sad to leave the board, the time is right to do so. Despite the challenges facing us, I leave the club in a strong and stable position, many miles away from where Thistle was when I first came to the club in 2007. Since then, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster at times but I wouldn’t have missed a minute of it. Now is the time to let the board move the club forward in a fresh way and that means under the direction of a new chairman.

“I have been a Thistle man all my life and that won’t stop now. I will continue to watch the club and look for the result first when I can’t get to the ground. I wish Jacqui Low all the best in her new role."

Low said: “On behalf of the board, I’d like to thank both David and Greig in the strongest possible terms for all they’ve done for this club.

“It’s easy to forget that we had debts that ran in to millions when David joined and over his tenure as chairman, he’s taken Thistle to the stable and financially sound club it is today. We are grateful for his many achievements and he will be sorely missed, but we respect his decision to stand down at this time. In his usual fashion, David recognised that we are at a point where change is happening and he wanted to let that happen under new leadership. He will always be welcome at Firhill and we look forward to seeing him at a game next season.”