Midfielder Manny Panther is set to head south in search of a new club after rejecting the contract on offer from Thistle. Although manager Dick Campbell backed up his statement that Panther had a future at the club by offering him a new deal, the 21-year-old was left frustrated at being loaned out to Brechin in January, and has decided it's in his best interest to make a fresh start elsewhere.
Speaking to the Evening Times, Panther said: "I was very frustrated I didn't get the chance to stay on at Thistle for the whole term. The bottom line is that although I played my last game for them in November, I remained their highest scoring midfielder. That's a statistic that I am both proud of and causes me a lot of frustration.
"Dick Campbell has already signed another midfielder in Jimmy Gibson and that only means I am further down the pecking order. But I still believe we lacked goals from midfield in the second half of the season. I could have supplied them if given the chance.
"I feel that I need a move to start things afresh and pick up some momentum again. Obviously Dick Campbell offered me a new deal, but that meant I had to prove myself all over again. I think it will be easier to do that elsewhere.
"My agent Mark Donnachie has made me aware of some First Division interest, but I think it might be the time to take a gamble. I fancy trying my luck in England and it could be that I will go down south on trial next month.
"As a Maryhill boy it saddens me to leave Thistle. But there comes a stage in your career when you have got to try something new. I need to be playing regularly now. I have to accept if I want to do that it must be away from Thistle."