Danny Devine thinks that the stability in the Partick Thistle dugout can give his side the edge over managerless Kilmarnock in today’s huge clash at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill.

Both Thistle and the visitors are sitting at the bottom of the standings on just three points from their opening eight games of the league campaign, a record that cost Killie manager Lee McCulloch his job.

As a result, head of their academy and former Thistle player Paul McDonald will lead them to Maryhill this afternoon, as the Ayrshire side take their time over a permanent appointment.

And Devine thinks that the fact his own club have stood by Alan Archibald, a manager the Thistle players not only respect but don’t want to let down, can give them an advantage.

The Jags players know exactly what is expected from them, and know their jobs inside out, and Devine is sure that can lead to a crucial three points this afternoon.

“It does help having a stable manager,” said Devine. “When a manager leaves or is sacked then there’s always whispers and that can unsettle the team.

“But it’s good to be at a club where everyone is behind the manager and his coaching staff.

“It gives us confidence to have people who have confidence in the manager and the board has confidence in the structure he has with his group of players.

“It’s up to us now to put in the right performances and get the right results. We are looking at the next three games as the chance to gain nine points.

“That’s what we have to do, we need to keep focusing on the positives and keep trying to improve.

“After the Motherwell performance, the only is up for us as a team.”

Another positive for Thistle is that they go into the match having had extensive experience, albeit unwelcome, of being in exactly this sort of position before.

Crucially, they also have experience of digging their way out of such holes.

“I can’t speak for Kilmarnock but there’s no panic from us even though we are in a similarly bad situation to themselves,” he said. “The fact that we’ve been here before will play its part.

“If you look about our club and at the training ground there is no panic because we know we have a good group of players here who can get us out of the situation.

“Last season was similar to what’s happened this season, we also had a slow start, then we managed to put in a couple of big performances and we slowly moved up the table.”

Caretaker Kilmarnock boss McDonald, for his part, hopes that stability can be found at Rugby Park after his solitary game in charge.

He said: “It’s not about me. It’s about the players. It’s about how they train and prepare.

“All we have been asked to do is come in, facilitate the training and make sure the players are fit and ready to go for Saturday.

“How far do I see this going? Until tomorrow. After that, who knows? That will be a decision for the board.

“I will be sneaking back into the shadows once the new manager has been named.”