The Thistle Archive

With 3 wins in 26, there's no doubt John Lambie was finding it tough to sort Thistle out in his third spell, the club having sunk to all-time lows in the late 90s. This was the backdrop facing the 32-year-old Paul McIntyre when he accepted the offer to join Lambie's Jags in November 1999 as part of a swap deal which saw Kenny Brannigan switch to Clydebank. He was seen as a versatile and experienced addition, reliable as a midfielder, but could play all over the park. Paul had an unfortunate debut "away" to Hamilton at Firhill that month - the first under Accies new tenancy agreement. It was a game of few chances and most were wasted by both sets of forwards. Perhaps a bit too keen to impress, two second half fouls meant that Thistle were a man down for the last 10 minutes or so. Paul went down in the history books as only the third Jag to be sent-off on his debut, following on from Billy Abercromby (1988) and Stevie Pittman (1994). Budinauckas had a fine save late on as Thistle held on for a point they just about deserved against the lodgers. They moved up to 2nd bottom on goal difference, so that was a positive for Paul to take. He only had a short half-season as a Jag, but he can always say that he played his part in helping Thistle to turn the corner, with only 1 defeat in his 13 league matches.

The Girvan-born lad had started out as a striker with Dailly Amateurs and got a move to Ally Macleod's Ayr United in 1986. He got his senior debut in April 1986, the Honest Men going down by 2 goals to 1 to Airdrie at Broomfield. Surprisingly, that turned out to be his sole first-team appearance in competitive terms. For the next few seasons he alternated between Ayr United Reserves and Maybole Juniors in an attempt to build up his game. His hard work eventually paid off when he got a move to St Mirren in March 1991. He was regarded as a very solid and versatile player during a hard time for the club, but always gave his very best, scoring some great headed goals over the years he was in Paisley. A notable contribution came in the 1993 Challenge Cup quarter-final against Airdrieonians on 24 November, with Paul scoring the decisive extra-time header in a 1–0 victory, advancing St Mirren to the semi-finals. Paul played in the final against Falkirk, but it was anti-climactic as he explained to the Galloway Gazette:

I had been playing well and things were looking good, but I fell out with manager Jimmy Bone. He played me in the reserves just before the final and put me on the bench for the final. It was dreadful. We lost 3-0 and I was on for just the last few minutes. There's not much I would want to remember. I gave my strip away, and I've no idea where my medal is.

In total, Paul made over 130 competitive appearances as a Buddie, netting 10 goals in the process. After becoming a free agent in the summer of 1996, Paul signed for Campbell Money's Stranraer, where he was a regular for 3 full seasons. There was soon glory for the Blues when they won the Challenge Cup, defeating St Johnstone 1-0 in the final in front of 5,522 at Broadwood. Paul had played his part in the run, but missed out of the final due to injury; it was part 2 in his Challenge Cup hard-luck story. In what was a big career highlight though, his second season at Stair Park resulted a league winners medal at the end of 1997-98, the Blues gaining promotion to the First Division. Alas, they were soon brought crashing down to earth, finishing bottom of the league, with 29 defeats. That said, a notable league win was secured at Easter Road against Hibernian.

With no respite from First Division struggles, Paul made the switch to Ian McCall's Clydebank in July 1999. In his brief stint until November 1999, he made 11 appearances (6 starts, 5 substitutes), scoring once in a 3–2 league defeat to Falkirk in September. After playing his part in Partick Thistle's mini-revival in the latter half of 1999-00, the 33-year-old Paul stepped back to the Ayrshire Juniors scene, turning out for Cumnock Juniors.