ON another difficult afternoon for Partick Thistle, there was at least one positive for the large travelling support to mull over on their journey home from Clackmannanshire on Saturday.

Souleymane Coulibaly wasn’t able to prevent Gary Caldwell’s first game in charge ending in a 1-0 defeat to Alloa Athletic, but there were plenty of encouraging signs throughout the Ivorian’s debut as a second-half substitute to suggest he could become an influential figure as Thistle look to move up the Championship table and into play-off contention.

Coulibaly has had to wait a while for this chance, having been frozen out of football by FIFA red tape since May last year. He looked eager to make up for lost time during his 30 minutes on the pitch, launching a diving header that was well saved, appealing in vain for a penalty after wriggling into the box, and then seeing another curling effort tipped over the top.

The former Kilmarnock striker will likely only get better as his fitness improves and team-mate Kris Doolan revealed that Coulibaly has already made a positive impression around the club since joining in the summer.

Doolan said: “He’s a bright little man, that’s just the way he is. He’s a wee character about the place and he’s always a happy wee guy.

“It’s actually great to see him back playing because it must have been a tough time for somebody his age to be put out of football and not be allowed to play. So, it’s good to see him back. Once he’s up to speed fitness-wise and sharpness I think we’ll see a very good striker.”

It has been a frustrating period for Coulibaly as he waited for FIFA to give him the green light to play again, but Doolan revealed the 23 year-old never let that get him down.

He added: “He’s a great wee guy, very positive, and very happy the way he goes about things. You would think with what he’s been through it would take its toll – not at all. He’s had his head down and been working hard and hopefully he’ll get in the team now and start scoring goals.”

This was not the start to his Firhill tenure that Caldwell would have wanted after being appointed as Alan Archibald’s successor but Doolan believes the new manager has already had a positive impact.

The striker added: “He’s been very good, to be honest. I was very impressed when he came in on day one, everybody was around the club. We’ve had a good week’s training and were all hopeful going into this weekend. The result just didn’t pan out the way we wanted but hopefully given time he can turn things around.”