Tam Courts believes there are plenty of positives for Dundee United to ponder as they prepare to end a big week with a trip to Celtic Park on Sunday.
The Tannadice side won the Dundee derby last weekend before losing 3-1 at home to Hibernian in Thursday's Premier Sports Cup quarter-final.
Courts' side were well in the match throughout but somehow found themselves 3-0 down at half-time before threatening a comeback with a strong second-half display.
Despite missing out on a return to Hampden, the manager is optimistic that his team are heading in the right direction overall and shouldn't fear this weekend's cinch Premiership trip to Glasgow.
He said: "The players can see what we're trying to do. When we reflect on Thursday, you can see a lot of good individual performances, a lot of good passages of play, and a lot of good control of the game against probably the third best team in the country so there were more than enough positives to take from it.
"This was always going to be a big week. We got the platform and the springboard from winning on Sunday.
"That was a big one for the fans, the players and the staff to know we can win on those big emotional occasions.
"Thursday was about taking our fans to Hampden, which they missed out on last year, so we're bitterly disappointed that we couldn't do that. Now, looking ahead to Celtic Park on Sunday, it's an exciting prospect and one that we'll be ready for."
On-loan Manchester United midfielder Dylan Levitt, who started against Hibs after an impressive substitute outing in the Dundee derby, echoed his manager's sentiments.
He said: "It was a positive performance against Hibs, I felt we controlled the game. We're obviously disappointed not to be going to Hampden but we'll dust ourselves off and be ready for Sunday. We're looking forward to it."
