Archibald sad Jackie McNamara won't be at Jags" big day THIS weekend, two of Scotland's in form teams will battle it out in a cup final in front of a sold-out crowd in Livingston. But Alan Archibald, manager of high-flying Partick Thistle, is just sad that his predecessor, the man who led the Firhill side to the final, will not be one of those clutching a precious ticket to see the much anticipated clash against Queen of the South. Jackie McNamara is in dispute with Thistle over a contract wrangle after he left the club to take over at Dundee United in January. Archibald wishes it wasn't so, and he could acknowledge his friend's part in getting the team to the Ramsdens Cup final in person. Although he does not know for sure whether or not McNamara and former Thistle assistant manager Simon Donnelly will be at Livingston, Archibald - whose team have earned 23 points from 27 since he took over - does not think it is likely. "It would be good to see Jackie in the stands on Sunday," said Archibald. Things have turned a wee bit ugly with everything that's been in the press. I honestly don't know what is happening there, but it does leave a bit of a bad taste. I'm friends with Jackie and Simon and I would like them to be there. They got us to the final. Things have turned a wee bit horrible but it would be good to see them. However, Archibald, given the pall cast by the legal wrangle, knows that their presence there will be unlikely, and he will just have to concentrate on lifting Thistle's first cup in 42 years, before attention returns to their First Division title-winning efforts. He is conscious of the deflating properties of a cup final loss, particularly against a team from the division below, and just prior to a critical clash against promotion rivals Morton next week. "They've reacted to everything so even if we do lose on Sunday they know what's at stake in terms of the league so I would hope they would react again," he said. The Morton game is a bigger game financially for the club but this is a chance to win a cup and it's one we want to take. It's the chance for Partick to win some silverware. We still have a chance to win the league too, so I see that as welcome pressure. I'd rather be competing than being in charge of a team that's struggling. Neither Thistle nor Queen of the South have been struggling this season, that is for sure. The Dumfries club secured the Second Division championship last week under player-manager Allan Johnston, although, like Archibald, he has not been doing much playing recently. "I played a couple of games in the season but got sent off - and that finished me off!" said the former Hearts, Rangers and Middlesbrough winger. I wasn't going to play much anyway. I just registered in case we were struggling for numbers. But the young boys who have come in have stepped up to the plate. I will probably register again next season, just to play in the reserves and help the young boys improve. Although Archibald, whose team have just played five times in 17 days, has not had the opportunity to watch Queens in the flesh, Johnston has admired Thistle's play this season on the occasions he has been able to attend their games. "I've seen Thistle three or four times," said Johnston. They're a really good passing team, good going forward. We've scored 99 goals in all competitions this year and only conceded 29. That's decent. So no doubt it will be a nil-nil draw! But it could be a special goal for whoever gets our 100th. Both teams play good attacking football, so it should be a really open game. Alan [Archibald] has done brilliantly. It must have been hard to take over when Jackie had been so successful, but he's kept it going. They've a lot of top players and it's credit to them that they're in this position. Should Queens win, they will have a match against Johnston's old club Middlesborough to look forward to, with Ramsdens having arranged for the English side to visit whoever emerge as victors on Sunday in a pre-season friendly.