One of the lessons of Euro 2016 was that team unity can carry any side further than they may have thought possible.

Sides packed with individual stars lost out to squads full of togetherness and perhaps it is this lesson that can catapult Partick Thistle to greater heights this term.

Glasgow's alternative club are on the rise, following up their 10th place finish in 2014 by ending the following year in eighth. And while they may have dipped down to ninth in 2015/16, they finished with the same number of points and were just one goal away from securing a top six place before the split.

Many Thistle fans appear to be happy with their place in Scottish football right now, conscious that survival remains the priority but with flirtations with the top six providing further evidence they've been exceeding expectations lately. They're looking for more of the same this year while the added bonus of a cup run or two would be little more than what they deserve based on their growth and stability in recent years.

A lot of their steady progress is down to the presence of boss Alan Archibald and the board allowing him to grow into his role at Firhill. After taking on the managerial reins in 2013, which prompted his retirement from playing, the former Jags defender has learned plenty along the way.

The faith and patience invested in him from the start was reiterated with a contract extension until 2019, maintaining his status as the longest serving manager in the top division. Having a settled coaching team in place and a clear long-term vision has since encouraged players to do likewise with Stuart Bannigan and Steven Lawless both performing U-turns to stay at the club.

Thistle may have lost defenders Dan Seaborne, Freddy Frans and Gary Miller, but they've welcomed Danny Devine from Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Kilmarnock's David Syme. Both have featured since joining but with Premiership experience already under his belt and youngster Liam Lindsay still establishing himself as a first team regular, Devine may get the nod ahead of the teenager.

Ziggy Gordon - a massive coup for Thistle - is more than capable of replacing the injured Mustapha Dumbaya who made such an impact last season. It may be difficult to slot into the fans' hearts as quickly as the man from Sierra Leone but his attacking prowess could make him a fitting substitute.

English striker Ade Azeez is already off the mark having netted in the League Cup and provides more attacking options for Archibald. Kris Doolan and Mathias Pogba have also opened their tallies for the campaign but the pressure will be on the latter to better his total of two goals last time out.

Should cup clashes act as any form of marker then they paint positives signs for Thistle. Nine of their group stage goals were scored by eight different goalscorers and they conceded only two at the back.

If all that wasn't enough to have supporters smiling then Chris Erskine's return home to Firhill, originally announced in January, certainly did the trick.

The fans' favourite is now in his third spell at Thistle after leaving the newly promoted Premiership club in 2013 to follow Jackie McNamara to Dundee United. He teased supporters with a mini comeback six months later, re-joining on a half-season loan spell, but the full circle wasn't fully completed until the start of 2016 when he signed a pre-contract with the Jags.

After hitting the ground running with two goals in the League Cup, Thistle fans will see the man, affectionately known as Squiddy, return to the Premiership and the 29-year-old could hardly be more excited.

"Over the last couple of years I haven't really enjoyed my football," Erskine told STV. "I can play some of my best stuff here and I think I have done that in the past."

Gerry Britton, Thistle's head of youth development, says the player originally signed from Kilbirnie Ladeside epitomises everything that's good about the men from Maryhill.

A born entertainer blessed with fantastic ability, Erskine was the man fans wanted to see back in the red and yellow. After narrowly missing out on the top half last year, Erskine's ability to influence games will not go unnoticed this season. As he edges towards senior status, his professionalism will also aid the younger squad members coming through the Thistle Weir Academy.

Rejoining a dressing room containing his old friends Doolan, Lawless and Bannigan could be the perfect tonic for Erskine and that strong team bond could be the very thing that sees Thistle break into the top half of the Premiership table.