Thistle midfielder Stuart Bannigan hopes to repay club after injury spell
Stuart Bannigan says he'll be patient following his return from long-term injury but hopes to repay the faith put in him by the club.
The midfielder looked set to leave Thistle last summer but suffered a knee injury in March 2016 which put paid to a move.
However, manager Alan Archibald offered him a two-year contract extension and Bannigan wants to reward him after returning to action following a full season on the sidelines.
Ahead of Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership encounter against St Johnstone, the 24-year-old said: I need to repay the faith they have shown in me because they gave me a two-year contract when they didn't need to. So I need to repay that with performances on the pitch.
The board didn't exactly know the situation with my knee, they thought I'd maybe be back in a couple of months' time rather than a full year.
They certainly didn't need to give me the contract but I'm grateful to them for it.
I had played a lot of games for the club and I definitely put my heart and soul into the club, and I came through the youth system as well. So maybe I did earn it but I'm grateful to them.
And it was no problem at all. I remember I spoke to the manager about staying and I thought maybe he'd be a bit sticky about it or it would take a while to get it sorted, but it was near enough that week it was all done and dusted. So I can't thank them enough.''
The former Scotland Under-21 international admits the injury and rehab has changed his outlook.
It's given me a greater appreciation for the game,'' he said.I always took training and games seriously and I was hard on myself after games.
But when you are out for that long you just have a greater appreciation of going out there and training and playing and you maybe shouldn't be too hard on yourself as well.
You come back a different person but you still want that winning mentality.''
Bannigan has had a testing return with Thistle losing their opening two league matches against Hibernian and Celtic.
It's been difficult,'' he said.You could say we have played the two hardest teams in the league. Hibs have just come up, they have got all the momentum and it was a home game and a big crowd as well, so it was a difficult place to go. And we obviously played the champions Celtic as well.
So it was difficult but it will stand me in good stead, playing those two games and trying to get up to the levels I was in the previous seasons.
I've been out for a long time. My personality, I really want to come back and show what I can do and try and be the best player in the team.
But I know that's not going to come straight away, it's going to take a wee bit of time. I need the manager and the players to stick with me and have faith that it will come.
But I can't be a passenger out there. I am going to need to carry my load if I can.'