Frans Can Boost Partick - Archibald

Photo by Jeff Holmes Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald believes his defence can benefit from the experience of new signing Frederic Frans. The 25-year-old Belgian centre-back signed this week after a successful trial spell and will compete with Aaron Muirhead, Dan Seaborne and Conrad Balatoni for a place in the backline. Archibald said: "He's an out-and-out centre-half. We need a bit of competition in that area and he gives us presence in there. "Dan has come in with great experience and he helps others round about him, and that's why we brought Fred in as well, because Dan missed a couple of games and we thought we lacked that." Archibald will soon have another player bolstering his first team with midfielder Sean Welsh on his way back from a lengthy lay-off with a groin injury. "Sean Welsh is nearly at match practice, he got a couple of games during the international break, 45 minutes and 60 minutes," said Archibald, whose team face Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday. "It's fantastic, he has been in training a couple of weeks now. "That's a year now he has been out so we will break him in as gently as we can, but it will be like a new signing when we get him back."