Paul McGinn 'back in love' with football after Partick end winless run
Partick Thistle's roller-coaster season saw defender Paul McGinn lose and rediscover his love for football - all in the space of five days.
A 5-1 drubbing by Kilmarnock last Saturday set alarm bells ringing among the worried Jags faithful and left McGinn wanting to shut out the world.
Four points behind at the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership, they then faced the prospect of being cut even further adrift as they took on in-form Motherwell on Wednesday.
However, a 3-2 triumph over Stephen Robinson's men ended a four-game winless run and raised hopes that Thistle can claw themselves out from the basement when they take on nearest rivals Dundee at Dens Park on Saturday.
But the victory also provided a much-needed spark for McGinn.
He told Press Association Sport: ''If we can get the win this weekend we'll be off the bottom, and that just shows you how quickly football can change.
Last Saturday I locked myself away in a dark room thinking I hate football and didn't want to see it ever again. I didn't want to watch Match of the Day or even think about football.
But by half-time against Motherwell I was right back in love with the game. Just that feeling of a win and being back in amongst the pack was great.''
Thistle have endured a testing campaign with a horrendous injury list limiting manager Alan Archibald's options, and McGinn accepts coping with the ups and downs of a relegation fight has been a mental challenge in itself.
''The difference in feeling you get between winning and losing is huge, and you end up completely craving the one you get after a victory,'' he said.
It becomes an obsession. Everyone thinks football is this great job but there's a lot more lows involved than highs.
Don't get me wrong, we finish earlier every day than ordinary folk, but the mental side can be a big challenge, so you can't get too high or too low.
People are raving about Man City's winning run right now, but how often do most players experience something like that? Usually a good win-rate is around 30 per cent.
Everybody wants to win all the time, but it's not always possible, so it's a tough game mentally.''