IAN McCALL celebrated the three-year anniversary of his return to Firhill as manager on Friday but the Partick Thistle boss wasn’t able to fully enjoy the occasion as he watched his side slip to a 2-0 defeat away to Falkirk.

The Jags manager heavily rotated his team for the SPFL Trust Trophy tie, allowing fringe players to get some competitive game-time as John McGlynn’s men ultimately progressed to the last 16.

McCall wasn’t overly fussed as his team bowed out of the competition as it allows the Maryhill outfit to turn their attention to getting points on the league table and maintaining their title bid when focus returns to the Championship tomorrow afternoon as Thistle host Morton.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful but no, not at all,” he replied when asked if was bothered about his team’s Challenge Cup exit.

“But we should have done better. A lot of the players have been coming off the bench and doing really well, but maybe it was us, it was just too disjointed and stuff.

“And take no credit away from Falkirk – they played well and John picked the same team so they’re obviously wanting to do well in that.

“I’d have liked to have won, I’d have liked to have played better but there were no injuries and we had our full quota of players playing today and hopefully they will be really hungry to get three points on Saturday and stay top of the league.”

He continued: “A lot of these guys, that was like a pre-season game for them because the team has done so well that they were getting on for 10, 20 minutes, half an hour and a few of them did really well coming on but it is very different playing 90 minutes.

“I would hold my hands up, I should have given them a bit more work but we played the same formation that we play in the first team and they were coming on into that formation. But it looked really disjointed and that’s probably my fault so I’m not going to judge them on that at all.

“There are a few of them, the likes of Darren Brownlie, Danny Mullen and these guys looked as if they needed the 90 minutes and I think there is a reserve game this Tuesday coming that these guys get another opportunity to get 90 minutes.”

McCall confirmed that he has a full squad of players to choose from and revealed that he was hoping to add another defensive recruit before the loan window closes at the end of the month but does not expect any further incomings.

“I wish but no,” he said. “I’d have liked to have got a defender in but we’re unable to do that so we just move on.”

Between the outbreak of Covid, Thistle’s demotion to League One and subsequent legal challenge, the third-tier title win and a failed promotion bid last term, it has been an eventful three years in the job for McCall.

There were a few words shared amongst colleagues to mark Friday’s occasion but they weren’t exactly congratulatory, according to the Thistle manager.

“Aye, most of them said ‘how the f*** did you last so long?’!” he joked. “Three years is a long time but I want to be here another three years easily.

“It was on the day that we got beat 2-0 in that cup but you know, when it mattered when we played Falkirk [to seal the League One title] we beat them 5-0.”