BRIAN GRAHAM insists it was a “no-brainer” to sign a two-year contract extension at Partick Thistle – despite an intriguing offer from an unnamed club.

The 34-year-old centre-forward yesterday signed a one-year extension – tying him to the Championship outfit until summer 2024 – as Jags manager Ian McCall revealed two approaches for the striker from the second and third tiers of the SPFL had been rebuffed.

Graham has provided 32 goals in 74 outings since arriving at Firhill in January 2020 and the veteran is determined to add to his tally as Thistle push for promotion to the Premiership in the upcoming campaign.

“I’m delighted to get it done,” he said. “It was pretty simple to be honest. I’m really happy here and I’ve been happy since I came.

“There was a bit of interest that threw up a couple of curveballs but I was never determined to leave. I always wanted to stay, so it was easy.

“You know what the gaffer is like though – there’s no pay rise. He’s murder!

“There was one [offer from another club] that was different and it was very appealing but I still have a lot of life left in me playing, so it was a very easy decision.

“My family and I are happy with me playing at Partick Thistle so it was a no-brainer.”

Graham may be getting on a bit but the Thistle forward has no plans on calling it a day anytime soon. Signing a two-year deal at the age of 34 would be a signal from some players that they plan on seeing out their career at their current club, but the former Ross County striker believes he still has plenty of miles left in the tank.

He explained: “I don’t know [if this will be my last contract] because we’ve been doing pre-season and I’m fitter than most of them!

“I want to keep playing as long as possible. When I see my fitness results when we came back for pre-season, there’s no doubt in my mind that I can keep playing for another four or five years.

“That is what I plan on doing so we will see how it goes.”

Graham has experienced a lot of change in his 17 years in the men’s game in Scotland. Professionalism has seeped in, standards have been raised and the result is that players are more focused than ever on delivering for their clubs on the park.

“It has totally changed since I first started,” he recalled. “I remember when I was a 17-year-old at Morton, you wouldn’t do anything for six weeks. You would go in and the first-team boys would be a wee bit heavier – they had probably had a bevvy for six weeks.

“Now, I had a week off but I was training Monday, Wednesday and Friday to keep myself ticking over. I was doing my [coaching] B license as well so I didn’t really have any time off this summer.

“I had two weeks away in Turkey with the family and I was in the gym every second day to keep myself ticking over. You have to do that now, to keep yourself in right good nick because the game has totally changed from when I first started out.

“It is more professional and there are more athletes in the game now. So if I don’t keep myself right…”

It is a far cry from the days of players running around in bin bags in a primitive attempt to force a sweat and thus lose a few pounds. Not that Graham lets that stop him from fishing the bin liners out the cupboard very now and then.

He added: “Believe it or not, I do remember that! Sometimes I still do it – I go out for a run and get the sweat up. Not very often because I don’t really need to lose weight. I’ve come back a wee bit underweight so I need to get on the protein.”

Brian Graham was wearing Partick Thistle’s now famous Kingsley kit, which will go on sale later this year. The Jags home and away kits for season 2022/23 are available now via www.greavessports.com