Kris Doolan keeps Partick Thistle sacking in perspective as he admits it doesn't come close to hardest night of his life

Doolan was axed by the Jags three months ago but playoff second leg against Queen's Park was way tougher for devastating reason

Positivity is oozing out of Kris Doolan.

Speaking to him, you wouldn’t know that just 11 weeks ago, with Partick Thistle sitting pretty in a play-off position, he was ruthlessly axed.

It would be easy to be bitter and twisted about it. To feel aggrieved at losing his first manager’s job, at a club he’s synonymous with, in such brutal circumstances.

But Doolan refuses to be downbeat. He can only look forward. Sometimes, what has happened in the past can shape your future.

When MailSport caught up with the Jags legend, he was driving back home after visiting his father Lawrence’s gravestone. That day would have been his dad’s 73rd birthday.

Two years ago he died on the eve of Thistle’s Championship promotion play-off second-leg against Queen’s Park. Just 24 hours after his passing, Doolan decided to take the team and led them to a thumping 4-0 victory at Ochilview.

At the time he was probably still in a daze or state of shock. When Doolan looks back, there are no regrets. None whatsoever.

He knows Lawrence wouldn’t have expected anything less from his son. But now, with time on his hands to reflect, he admits the game against the Spiders was the hardest night of his life.

And his dad’s death has given him a perspective and outlook that make him optimistic about what lies ahead. Getting fired suddenly doesn’t feel as critical.

So rather than get down about unemployment, he’s philosophical and excited about his next challenge.

As Doolan cast his mind back to May 2023, he said: “That was probably the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do, manage the team a day after dad passed away.

“You go through hard times in football. But ultimately it’s a game. It’s a job. Having to do that so soon was the hardest thing I’ve had to do.

“It was the night before the Queen’s Park game and my dad would have been there.

“So I was actually hell-bent on getting there and leading the team. I’m glad I did it. We played well and got through the game. But it was probably the most difficult night of my life.

“I don’t have any regrets about it. My dad was as big a Partick Thistle fan as you’ll get. He followed me everywhere when I played, all over the country at every ground.

“He then followed me as a manager. Even when he was unwell in hospital, he was still watching us on TV.

“I’d leave training and go there to sit with him. Or after a game I’d go up and we’d talk about how it had gone.

“He wanted me there that night so I don’t regret it at all. You have to go with your heart in a situation like that. You know what your own father would want.

“You know what type of person he is. I had discussions with him after the Queen’s Park home game a few days before.

“So I knew everything he was thinking. Your dad is your dad and he always wants you to do well. Of course, things like that put everything in perspective.

“People say losing the play-off final that year to Ross County on penalties was a sliding doors moment for me. But it wasn’t. Losing my dad was.

“Because for me, if you can deal with that and not let it affect you, you can deal with anything.” Doolan’s humility is one of his biggest qualities. But it’s no surprise given his journey into professional football.

At the age of 23 he was still playing for Junior outfit Auchinleck Talbot. A decade later he’d secured legendary status at Firhill as one of their all-time top scorers.

Being relieved of his duties was hard to take but he refuses to let it define his time at the club. He said: “It’s strange being out of the game because I’ve been immersed in it for so long. But when you look at the route I took, it was a hard one – a tough way to do it.

“That has stood me in good stead for my playing career and now managing.

“You need a work ethic. To fight your way out of Junior football to the top six in the Premiership, you have to work for it.

“In management every day you need to be on it. I’ve got that work ethic and I’ll never lose it.

“So I won’t get too down about it (being axed by Jags). It’ll happen to far better managers than me.

“It’s not personal. I did a good job – we were in the play-off positions. We were good in the time we had. But a board makes a decision and you must move on.

“It affects people in different ways but I’m positive. It’s not a nice thing and I’ve now experienced it for the first time.

“But in this game you have to be resilient. Football evolves all the time and you move with it. It will never stop for me.

“Whatever happens next, wherever I end up, I’ll be ready to commit to that just as much as I did at Thistle.

“I’ve now seen every level of the game. So I’ll dust myself down and not take it personally.

“I want to be a manager but I’d take a job as a coach or an assistant if it was right for me. I don’t have an ego.

“I’m not someone who says I need to do this or that. If it was the right job at the right club with the right people at the helm, that’s the most important part.

“As I say, I don’t have a big ego. But I think we did a good job at Thistle. I know what I’m doing as a manager, I think I’ve shown that.”

For now, Doolan is taking a well-earned break. Not just to analyse and assess the work he did at Thistle – but to recharge his batteries so he can go full throttle in his next job.

He said: “I’ve never done this amount of housework in my life!

“Every manager tells you the same thing. Whenever you leave a job it’s important to rest, assess things – and make sure you’re ready to go for the next one.

“I went to Portugal for a week and I enjoyed the Easter holidays with my kids.

“We’ve done a lot more things as a family at home – and I needed that. Because when you’re in the job, it’s really all-consuming, 100mph and 24/7.

“You have to re-energise and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

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