Mark Wilson and Alex Rae sign new Thistle contracts

Thursday 27th August, 2026 at 5:44pm

The club’s management team of Mark Wilson and Alex Rae have put pen to paper on new contracts with Partick Thistle.

The duo have reinforced their commitment to the Jags ahead of this weekend’s game against Queen’s Park at the WrightKerr Stadium at Firhill – our fourth of the new William Hill Championship campaign.

Mark Wilson’s Partick Thistle journey started in October 2023 when he was appointed Head Coach of our Academy’s Under 18s side with the opportunity to step up to the senior coaching staff on a temporary basis arising in February 2025.

After a successful spell as part of an interim management team alongside Brian Graham, Mark was appointed Head Coach of our men’s first team last summer with Alex Rae joining him as Assistant Head Coach a few weeks later.

The duo’s first season in charge of the Jags was a hugely successful one as the team reached two major quarter-finals, finished second in the Championship and got to the Premiership play-off final, narrowly missing out on promotion.

Season two under the stewardship of Wilson and Rae has started in a similarly positive vein with progression from the Premier Sports Cup group stages achieved again and seven points taken from the opening three games of the league campaign.

Overall, with 31 wins from 60 games in charge so far, Mark and Alex currently boast the highest win percentage of any management team in club history.

Thistle Sporting Director Ian Baraclough said:

“I think it’s fair to say that Mark and Alex have been a perfect fit for Partick Thistle since taking over last summer and everyone here is over the moon that they’ve extended their contracts with us.

“Working with both of them on a day-to-day basis, their passion for the game and for the club is blatant but, beyond that, they’ve also got outstanding coaching acumen which is proven by the way they were able to implement an attractive and effective style of play so quickly at the start of last season.

“They’ve also created an environment that players want to be a part of and one that allows players to grow and develop – that’s not easy to do.”

Jags Head Coach Mark Wilson said:

“I said when I was appointed Head Coach last summer that it is a great honour to be affiliated with this club and that feeling has only grown in the 14 months since – it truly has been a privilege to be in charge of Partick Thistle and I’m incredibly excited to continue this journey.

“Last season was unlike anything else I’ve experienced in football and the opportunity to work with my squad and the coaching staff each day was an absolute joy which translated into results on the pitch.

“The fans bought into what we were doing wholeheartedly and helped us create moments and memories which will last a lifetime for me. This new season has started with the same positive feeling and we’re all determined to continue pushing Thistle forward.”

The club’s Assistant Head Coach Alex Rae added:

“When Mark asked me to come in last year I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into but very quickly I found myself in a role that I absolutely loved, working with a terrific group of players and that’s been a real pleasure.

“You want to come into work and have a smile on your face more often than not and that’s certainly been the case for me. You have your ups and downs every season in football, of course, but the direction of travel with this group has been overwhelmingly positive and we want that to carry on for as long as possible.”