NEW Partick Thistle recruit Steven Saunders says that has seen enough in just one training session to believe that the Jags can haul themselves up the Championship table.

The defender joined the Firhill side yesterday on an 18-month deal from Livingston and has already trained with his new teammates for the first time.

And with the talent at Gary Caldwell’s disposal, he is sure that if Thistle can add another few bodies during this transfer window, they will soon be pulling away from what he feels is a false position.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge ahead,” Saunders said.

“Looking at the squad and being in at training today, I don’t think we are all that far away to be honest. We’re maybe just lacking a little bit of confidence at either end of the park.

“I’ve only had one training session, but even going on that, I don’t see why we can’t start climbing the table.

“I know the gaffer wants to bring in a few more players, but we have a baseline. It is a decent squad, especially for the Championship.

“I think the position we are in at the moment is a bit false in relation to that, and hopefully we can show that in the next couple of months.

“It’s a challenge that excites me. For me, Thistle are a big club, and I’ve always grown up thinking of them as a Premiership club.

“Seeing them relegated last season was a bit of a shock and seeing where they are now is a shock too, but I think they are a big club and I see us moving up the table.”

Saunders’s first aim is to help bolster the leaky Thistle backline that has kept just two clean sheets in the Championship this season.

“I hope to come in and help shore things up and help the team keep a couple of clean sheets first and foremost,” he said.

“That’s the base for any team if they are down this end of the league. If you want to climb the table, that starts with clean sheets, and hopefully we can start by getting one on Saturday at Dundee United.

“It is going to be tough, but it will be good to get a game under my belt and hopefully we can pick up three points and start climbing the table.”

The 27-year-old brushed off any concerns about his match sharpness ahead of the trip to Tannadice, having failed to start a competitive match since August at the Toni Macaroni Arena.

“It was a frustrating experience at Livingston not getting the game-time I wanted, but with the run they were on I couldn’t really grumble,” he said.

“It’s not like you are sitting in the stand watching them getting beat every week, so there wasn’t too much I could complain about and I understood the reasons why I wasn’t playing.

“But I’m fit and raring to go. I’ve not missed a day of training this season and I’ve played in all the reserve games, so while I’ve missed out on first-team action, I’ve been keeping myself fit.”

Meanwhile, Thistle have also completed the signing of young Celtic goalkeeper Conor Hazard.

The 20-year-old, who has previously been on loan at the Jags’ Championship rivals Falkirk, joins the club on a loan deal until the end of the current season.