Ian Maxwell backs Alan Archibald to bring Partick Thistle straight back up
Ian Maxwell has backed Alan Archibald to lead Partick Thistle straight back to the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Maxwell's seven-year stint as Jags managing director came to an end on Sunday as he stepped down to take over as the new Scottish Football Association chief executive.
But his Firhill farewell coincided with the play-off final defeat to Livingston which saw them relegated to the Championship.
It was the worst possible end to a decade-long association with the Maryhill outfit which first began when he signed as player back in 2008.
Maxwell had as much to do with the successes the club enjoyed during that spell - such as their 2013 First Division title triumph and last year's top-six breakthrough - as Archibald and he backed his former team-mate to get Thistle back on track.
"I was devastated on Sunday,'' he said as he met the media at Hampden two days into his new post.
"It was a horrible afternoon for the club and it wasn't a great way to leave.
"The timing couldn't be helped. Everybody has known I was starting on the Monday and the play-off final was the Sunday.
"I've left a really good club with really good people. It's obviously going to be difficult for them but in terms of structure I think they are in a fairly decent place.
"I can't see there being wholesale changes behind the scenes, we didn't run it that way.
"The nature of football is that ultimately teams get relegated at the end of every season and unfortunately we were one of them.
"It's not my decision (whether Archibald stays on) but I think he is the right man to lead them back up.
"When a club goes down you look for someone with passion, someone who knows the club and understands it.
"Although this season was really poor in terms of results, I don't think we should forget that Alan has done incredibly well at Thistle over the period.
"He got us to finish in the top half last year which in a roundabout way actually made this season worse because expectation increased because we did so well.
"But listen, Alan loves the club and will be hurting more than anybody.'