The Thistle Archive

● Kris Doolan, 2023 (SNS)

MANAGERIAL SPELL

(Sun-12-Feb-2023 ↔ Tue-18-Feb-2025)

After almost 4 years in exile, Kris Doolan returned to Partick Thistle in mid-January 2023, taking over as the head coach of the Partick Thistle U-18 team. Just 4 weeks later, Ian McCall was “relieved of his managerial duties” and Kris was asked to take over as interim manager of the first team. As he himself put it, “for the club I love, I couldn't not step up to help”. He was appointed permanent manager after just 3 games and went on to have an excellent start, losing just twice in nineteen games, a run which had the Jags on the brink of a dream return to the Premiership, in the end denied only by a penalty shoot-out in a dramatic play-off final at Dingwall. Despite that loss, Thistle fans were united in the view that the football played during the run to the play-offs final was the best seen for at least 10 years. In Doolan's first full season, the Jags improved to third, and once again qualified for the play-offs, but the consensus was that the flair and magic of the previous season had dissipated, the loss of Tiffoney, Docherty, Holt & Turner having been felt keenly.

Interestingly, over 77% of Kris Doolan's tenure (57/74 league matches) was spent in a promotion play-off position. Despite this consistency of sorts, it was clear that the underlying trend was regression in terms of quality and, latterly, in terms of points being dropped. In the early months of season 2024-25, shocking cup defeats at home to Clyde (League Cup) and Alloa (Challenge Cup) were compounded by defeat away to Queen's Park in the Scottish Cup, setting alarm bells ringing, especially given that the playing budget had been bolstered in expectation of a positive campaign. In the league, despite occupying 4th place (as usual), the chances of promotion were looking remote early in the new year, and Doolan was dismissed after a particularly dismal 0-3 defeat at Stark's Park in February 2025. It was a strange sacking in that there was no bitterness from the support, only sadness all round that it wasn't to be. From Kris's point of view he left with his head held high and, statistically, an above average record to the historical line.

Kris was in charge of Thistle, his only managed club, for 102 games in total.