LUCAS AKINS has vowed to hold on to his starting place at the apex of the Partick Thistle line-up.

The 20-year-old loan signing from Hamilton had a nightmare start to his five-month loan deal, when he suffered a groin injury in his debut at Queen of the South on January 24.

However, Akins has started back-to-back games for the Jags and was influential in the problematic target-man role Thistle had been desperate to fill all season.

"It was frustrating to come to Thistle for games and then get the groin injury. But hopefully I have shown what I can do over the last couple of games and have done enough to stay in the side for the Dundee game on Sunday.

"When I agreed to come on loan to Partick, Billy Reid, the Hamilton manager, said I needed to get as many starts as I could as I had been warming the bench for Hamilton in the most part. So to be finally doing that has been really important."

With injuries robbing Thistle of Liam Buchanan and, for a spell, Simon Donnelly, Akins was pitched in alongside Kris Doolan for the trip to bogey side Ross County last Tuesday.

The former Hudders-field striker duly turned in a performance that underlined his ability to hold the ball up, and bring his fellow striker into play during the 2-0 success.

Perhaps still lacking aerial aggression, Akins still showed some neat touches at Dunfermline on Saturday in what were admittedly much more trying conditions in the teeth of a testing gale.

And he reckons that his partnership with Doolan can help the Jags realise their Premier League dream over the final seven-game stretch of the campaign.

"I think Kris and I complement each other," he said.

"Kris likes to get in behind defences and, hopefully, I have been able to play him in there with a couple of flicks.

"At Dunfermline he nearly scored from one and we have hooked up pretty well considering we have just had two games. But you want all your strikers fit with a run in as important as this one is to Partick Thistle.

"Hop-fully, Liam will make it back for the St Johnstone game in three weeks, and it is good that Sid Donnelly is back in the squad."

Turning his attention to Sunday's visit of Dundee, Akins admits the Jags will need to be at their best to cope with the resurgent threat of the Dens Park side.

The Jags striker said: "Dundee had a convincing victory over Ross County at the weekend, and they are just six points behind us with two games in hand.

"They will be coming to Firhill desperate to beat us and turn the heat up. I know they are a big, well-organised side.

"But if we want to take our promotion bid all the way, we have to be able to find a way to win between now and the end of the season.

"Maybe some of the football we are going to play over the last seven games won't be pretty but we need to get three points as often as possible.

"We have had a couple of bad losses at Firhill recently against Dunfermline and Clyde, and it is vital we don't lose against Dundee."