Partick Thistle: Alan Archibald sacked as manager

Scotland's second longest-serving boss, Alan Archibald, has been sacked by Championship club Partick Thistle.

Saturday's 2-0 loss to Ross County was Thistle's fourth in five games, and leaves them eighth in the second tier after their relegation last term.

Chairman Jacqui Low said the decision "was not taken lightly" but that "change had to happen now" if they were to achieve promotion.

Former player Archibald had been in charge at Firhill since January 2013.

He led the Glasgow club to promotion to the top flight four months later, where they stayed until they moved down last season.

Thistle initially decided to stick with Archibald, 40, despite the drop, with then chairman David Beattie describing him as "the best man for the job".

In a statement on the Thistle website,, external Low said: "We gave Alan our full support following relegation but were clear from the outset that our sole objective was to secure promotion back to the Premiership.

"However, results have not met our expectations so if we are to still achieve our aim, a change had to happen now."

Chief executive Gerry Britton will take temporary charge, along with head of the youth academy Scott Allison.

Only Peterhead's Jim McInally has been in post longer than Archibald.