 |
Partick Thistle – a People’s History will be the 150th anniversary book; author Kenny Pieper needs your memories and stories from following the Jags… read more on the club website  or get straight to it by e-mailing: ku.oc.cftp|051#ku.oc.cftp|051 |
| Zak Rudden |
 Zak Andrew Rudden was born on Sunday, 6th February, 2000, in Edinburgh. The 6' 2 (12st 8lbs) forward signed for Ian McCall's Thistle on Friday, 10th January, 2020, having most recently been with Rangers. Aged 19, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 18th January, 2020, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Celtic in the Scottish Cup. Zak scored his first goal for Thistle on Tuesday, 23rd March, 2021, in a 3-0 win at home to Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Cup. He scored the last of his 16 goals on Saturday, 8th January, 2022, in a 2-2 draw away to Hamilton Academical in the SPFL Championship. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 22nd January, 2022, in a 1-0 win at home to Airdrieonians in the Scottish Cup, having appeared as a Jag on 50 occasions. At August, 2025, Zak's club-list included Rangers, Falkirk, Plymouth Argyle, Partick Thistle, Dundee, St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Queen's Park, Livingston and Dunfermline Athletic. |
 The Edinburgh-born forward began his professional career in the Rangers youth system and broke through to train with the first team in 2018. His international career began at Rangers at U-16 level, and he'd eventually win 31 caps and score several goals up to U-21 level, ending in 2022. Whilst a Ger, his development continued with successful loan spells, including a memorable season at 3rd tier Falkirk in 2018-19 where he netted on 12 occasions. The 19-year-old spent the first half of the 2019/20 season with Plymouth Argyle in English League Two, where he found the net on three occasions in an 19 game stint. It was Ian McCall who brought Zak to Firhill in the January transfer window of 2020. The season would end disastrously as Thistle were controversially demoted to the 3rd tier when the league was called due to the international pandemic, nine games early. Thistle bounced back at the first time of asking, securing the League One title in April 2021, with Zak finding the net 7 times in his 17 competitive outings that term. Zak had half-a-season back in the Championship with Thistle, but it was somewhat spoiled with a January 2022 public announcement that he'd be joining Dundee at the end of his contract in the summer of 2022. This displeasing turn of events resulted in Zak being hurriedly loaned out to the Dens Park club, the deal being announced on transfer deadline day, 31 January 2022. Aspects of the matter remained problematic for Thistle's satisfaction, so much so that an SPFL tribunal had to resolve the case in September 2022, the settlement details undisclosed. At Dundee, Zak proved his worth with 56 appearances and important goals, including match-winners and equalisers that demonstrated his ability to deliver on the big occasions, albeit he was deemed inconsistent by sections of the fanbase. He had two loan deals whilst at Dundee, joining St Johnstone in January 2023, and Raith Rovers in January 2024, before departing Dundee by mutual consent in the summer of 2023. Zak signed a two-year deal with Queen's Park in the summer of 2024, but that was cut short when he switched to newly promoted Livingston a year later, only to switch back to the Championship again, to Dunfermline, in late August 2025, less than three months after signing for Livingston. |
| (WS) |
