Alan Archibald is hoping to channel the spirit of the late John Lambie as Partick Thistle head into the last five games of the season that will decide their Ladbrokes Premiership fate.

In the week of Jags legend Lambie’s funeral, and on the day the club named a stand at Firhill after their former manager, Archibald took a step back from the frontline of the relegation dogfight to fondly remember some of the illuminating days of yore.

In the grand Lambie traditions, Archibald may have been sorely tempted to seek respite in that favoured old Thistle haunt of Blackpool given the current predicament they find themselves ahead of tomorrow’s crucial clash with Hamilton.

“I’m on a rollercoaster,” said Archibald with a wry smile. “But Blackpool was just madness. We would play in the Scottish Cup on the Saturday. We would go down to Blackpool on the Sunday, the Monday and usually the Tuesday for the pigeon convention. It was what it was. A drinking session. We signed David Rowson, Kevin McKeown and Jamie Buchan. They turned up at the hotel to meet us and asked where the training facilities were.

“John just turned and went: ‘There they are there, son’. He was pointing to the beach. That was it. But we went out the following Saturday and got a performance.

“I have loads of memories but you can hardly print any of them. I didn’t always respect the way he did things when I was a 16-year-old, I just thought he was a mad, crazy man.

“When I walked into Firhill at 16, there was a half-naked guy screaming at me to get off the effin stairs. I wasn’t allowed to cross him on the stairs because of superstition. I didn’t even know that existed. I think it only existed in John’s head!

“That’s the kind of character he was. When he came back for the second time, I played under him and he was outstanding.

“Everyone focused on the madness and the cigars and the crazy trips to Blackpool. But it was a minor miracle that he did what he did. He didn’t always get the plaudits because of the character he was. He galvanised people and gave them the self-confidence to go and play. He got the best out of players and the club.”

Thistle’s players need to dig into their reserves and give it their best go as the season builds to a nail-nibbling finale. Having failed to find the net in the five games since they lost 2-1 to Hamilton in February, Thistle are desperate for any kind of victory and arrest a grisly run of eight defeats in 10 games. With Chris Erskine causing something of a stir earlier in the week by essentially suggesting that no Thistle footballer is deserving of a player of the year award at the club’s annual dishing out of accolades, Archibald expressed empathy with the forward’s sentiments.

“I don’t agree in personal prizes and I would bin all Player of the Year awards,” he said “I understand where Chris is coming from and I think he is right. The last thing anyone wants is to stand up and get an award when you are at the bottom end of the league table.”