Directors Programme Notes: Craig Liddell – 3rd October 2026

Thursday 8th October, 2026 at 5:00pm

Good afternoon and welcome to the WrightKerr Stadium at Firhill for today’s match against Arbroath.

My name is Craig Liddell and I joined the Partick Thistle Board earlier this year as a Club Director. I wanted to use today’s programme to introduce myself to the Thistle supporters and to provide an update on some of the work that has taken place around the club since I joined at the end of May.

I have been a Thistle supporter for 52 years, from an early age travelling to home and away games with my dad, also a lifelong Jags fan, so becoming a Director of Partick Thistle is something that means a great deal to me personally.

Although I have just recently joined the board, I took great pride previously in being on the testimonial committees for Kris Doolan, Stuart Bannigan and Steven Lawless. I am also currently involved in the working group responsible for planning of the Partick Thistle 150th Anniversary celebrations.

Over the summer, we had some significant projects that were really the primary focus as we prepared for this season.

The City End had, over the years, accumulated a build-up of earth and rubble which was putting pressure on the wall along McParland Way. Thanks to the work and support of club sponsor Callander Landscapes, this was removed. This will help relieve the pressure on the wall, but it also restored the path from our old turnstiles to the top of where the City End terracing began.

The Club Shop also underwent a major renovation during the summer before opening at the Livingston game in early August. We have ended up with a retail store that has doubled in size and will allow the range of products to evolve over the course of the partnership.

Roof repairs were also undertaken with the help and support of club sponsor SCF Stone Cladding Facades Ltd. With their expertise and assistance, they helped us carry out repairs that we will see the benefit of for many years to come.

Our current dugout arrangements have been in place since the summer of 2013. Since then, a lot has changed in football, including the number of substitutes that can be named in a matchday squad.

This summer we undertook a significant amount of remedial work to freshen up the dugouts. This included the installation of new Perspex, the purchase of new seats for the rear of the dugouts to increase capacity, and repairs to the front-row seats. The aim was to freshen the area up and ensure that it looks and functions as you would expect at a professional football club.

With those projects concluded, our attention has now moved to the next set of priorities.

The most significant project that we will have to consider is the future of our floodlights.

Our current floodlights were installed in the early 1990s and, with technological advances over the last three decades, the bulbs used on each tower are now obsolete. Our Facilities and Stadium Manager, Anthony Docherty, has done a terrific job over the years sourcing replacement bulbs from across the continent, but we need to look at a longer-term solution and potential upgrade.

There is SFA grant funding that the club is currently in the process of applying for, which we hope will provide support for projects around the stadium. There is a lot of work to be done before any decisions can be made, but these are the types of projects we need to be thinking about if we are going to continue improving the stadium.

Commercially, there has also been a real focus on building relationships. We have a number of excellent sponsors and partners who support the club financially and in other ways, and we want those relationships to develop beyond simply having a company name on a board around the stadium.

One example of that has been welcoming sponsors to training. Giving our commercial partners the opportunity to see the football side of the club up close, meet the staff and players and understand more about what happens away from matchday is important. Equally, it gives the club an opportunity to demonstrate the value of being involved with Partick Thistle.

The 71 Lounge has also been a particular success, with membership now full. That is a great indication of the appetite for that type of offering and the importance of creating different ways for supporters and businesses to engage with the club.

There are also further commercial opportunities that we are working on, with our focus on building sustainable relationships rather than simply looking for short-term deals.

We have recently introduced the new LED scoreboard at the City End of the stadium. After a tight turnaround to get it up and running for the Ayr United game, we have refined the display and the processes around it. We aren’t there yet, and we will continue to work on it until we have something that works and is at the best possible standard.

We also recently announced plans to offer supporter messages on the scoreboard on a paid basis.

We got this wrong.

As a club operating on a break-even basis, the intention was to cover the genuine costs associated with creating, administering and displaying these messages. However, the feedback we received was that this was not in keeping with the community spirit of a fan-owned club.

We listened to that feedback, and supporter messages will be provided free of charge for the remainder of this season. Please visit the club website for more information on how to submit a message for the screen.

I think it is important to say that none of this work is being done in isolation. There are a huge number of people involved in making the club operate every week. Our staff, volunteers, sponsors, partners, Board members and supporters all play a part.

There is still plenty to do. We will not get everything right, and there will always be things that supporters would like to see happen more quickly. But I am enjoying the opportunity to contribute, and I am committed to working with the rest of the Board, our staff, volunteers and supporters to continue moving the club forward.

Ultimately, I am still a supporter. I just happen to now have a different role at the club.

I look forward to continuing to speak to as many of you as possible throughout the season. If you see me around Firhill, or in the away stands across the country, please come over and say hello. I am always happy to have a conversation.

As I said previously at the Meet the Board event in the Alan Rough Lounge my email address is if you wish to contact me.

Enjoy the game and thank you for your continued support of Partick Thistle.

Craig Liddell