Partick Thistle manager Jackie McNamara has said he will not rush new signing Conrad Balatoni back into his starting eleven.

The 21-year-old centre half signed for Thistle last week after his contract with Hearts came to an end in the transfer window.

Balatoni has previously enjoyed two loan spells at Firhill, with the latest ending on January 1. He has already made 38 appearances with The Jags and has now signed a deal with Thistle until the end of the season.

McNamara said: "Conrad has not played since our fixture on Boxing Day so he is not quite ready in terms of fitness. We are delighted to have him back in the squad."

Between January and February, Thistle went three weeks without a game due to postponements and cup competitions.

Now, fans have a run of games to look forward to with Saturday’s 0-0 with Greenock Morton at Firhill followed by tomorrow night’s match at home against Ayr Utd, then a trip to Raith Rovers next weekend.

McNamara was pleased with his side for their performance against Morton, and hopes they can keep improving to claim their first victory of 2012.

He added: "All areas of the team played well. The Morton goalkeeper made two great saves from Kris Doolan so we just need to keep up the good pressure and it will hopefully turn into goals."

The problems at Rangers have dominated the front and back pages for the past week after the Scottish champions went into administration.

From a Thistle perspective, fans will no doubt ask what the news from Ibrox will mean for Darren Cole and Kal Naismith.

Both players joined the club on loan from Rangers in January. Paul Clark, one of the appointed administrators from Duff and Phelps, said it is not a foregone conclusion that cuts to playing staff will have to be made.

However, with the futures of Cole and Naismith and everyone else at the club in question, Jags fans will hope any potential job losses will not affect the existing deals between Thistle and Rangers for the defender and forward.

McNamara has admitted he is in the dark as much as anyone else. He added: "We will just need to wait and see what will happen with them. We are continuing on as normal at the moment."