Tributes to Partick Thistle ex-manager Gerry Collins who died after health battle

Partick Thistle FC has paid tribute to its former manager and player Gerry Collins after he passed away this week.

The Jags legend's death was announced by the club on Monday after he lost a battle with a long illness. Collins spent the final three years of his playing career at Maryhill and also represented Albion Rovers, Ayr United and Hamilton Accies. However, he was better known as being assistant to John Lambie in a management duo revered by Thistle fans.

He first joined the Jags in 1988, under temporary manager Bobby Watson, to help shore up a leaky defence battling against relegation from the second tier.

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Described as a "no-nonsense defender", he would make interventions on the park but perhaps his most important intervention was as the man who convinced John Lambie that a future in Maryhill may be fruitful.

Lambie returned the favour by turning the temporary signing into a permanent one, making Collins his first piece of business as Partick Thistle manager. It was one of the most famous Partick Thistle partnerships in the club's history.

The club wrote online: "Everyone at Partick Thistle FC is truly saddened to learn of the passing of Gerry Collins, our former defender, manager and – most famously – assistant manager.

"Gerry’s tight network of close family and friends are in our thoughts today (Monday May 20) while they deal with the pain and sadness of the great man's passing after a long battle with illness.

"That Gerry fought so bravely for so long defied the odds but would be no surprise to anyone who knew him, an individual known more than anything for his battling spirit.

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"Gerry’s body of work at Partick Thistle and his overall contribution to the club was and is nothing less than magnificent, giving a generation of Jags fans some of the best times of their football supporting lives."

They added: "Only last year Gerry returned to Firhill as part of a Tennent’s Sixes reunion celebration and was on top form, loved by fans and former players alike, telling stories with genuine pride, with remarkable detail and with the sharp humour he was renowned for.

"More recently, Gerry’s family were at Firhill to hear what thousands of fans across the Jackie Husband Stand and – aptly – John Lambie Stand thought of him: that there is only one Gerry Collins. And so say all of us.

"Our thoughts continue to be with Gerry’s family and friends and the club is here to help them in any way we can.

"Rest in peace Gerry Collins and thanks for everything – once a Jag, always a Jag."

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