Steve Clarke pays tribute to travelling Kilmarnock fans
Last updated 8th Apr 2018
There were 1,600 vociferous Killie supporters among the crowd of 4,227 at the Energy Check stadium at Firhill and they enjoyed watching defender Stuart Findlay's first-half header give the visitors their fifth successive win.
It has been a remarkable turnaround since Clarke took over the club last October.
The Rugby Park men were bottom of the table and on the same points total as the Jags when he took his seat in the Maryhill stand to watch his new charges win 2-0 with their first league victory of the season to go above Thistle.
Since then Killie have moved up the table and are within seven points of fourth-placed Hibernian with a game in hand as they prepare to play Hamilton next week with Clarke delighted by the response he is getting from the punters.
He said: ''Over 1600 people up from Kilmarnock on not a very nice day, on a game they could look at and think they have better things to do on a Saturday.
We have made a good connection with the fans and slowly they are starting to come back, supporting the team home and away.
Long may it continue.''
Thistle boss Alan Archibald noted Ross County grabbed a 1-1 draw against Hibernian on Saturday to go a point clear of the Glasgow club.
However, he insists that result changed little with regards how his side will have to approach the five post-split games.
He told Jagzone: ''I don't think the point really changes things because of our poor goal difference.
We will still have to win a couple of games, there is no doubt about that.
So it doesn't really change a lot.
We can take something from the game in terms of our level of performance.
I was delighted by the reaction.
Credit to the lads, they didn't hide they showed for it and did all they could to get back into the game and try to get that goal.''