Iain Diack took the positives from East Kilbride Thistle’s defeat to his old side Sauchie Juniors on Saturday.
The Jags lost out 3-1 after Ryan Officer had opened the scoring for EK Thistle.
Despite the defeat, Diack was encouraged by the performance against a high-level of opposition in great form.
The 40-year-old said: “They scored five past Darvel and six past Dunipace so they are a good side who are capable of scoring loads of goals.
“In terms of the difference between the sides in terms of budgets, I took plenty of positives away from the game.
“They have a squad littered with experienced guys at this level and above. We performed really well and we took the lead before going in 1-1 at half time.
“The pitch was beautiful and we were able to get the ball down. We were able to get in their faces, put them under pressure and we pressed them really well.
"I think they’d have expected to put five or six past us in all honesty so I’m pleased we kept the score respectable.”
EK Thistle beat Ashfield 2-1 in a friendly last Wednesday, thanks to goals from Tony Kerr and a trialist, and Diack was impressed with his side’s ability to adjust to a different style of play.
He added: “It’s always good to get the win. It was very different from previous pre-season games like against Glasgow United when we played great football.
“The pitch against Ashfield was bobbly and rock solid so it affected how both teams played. It was a battle so it was good to see another side of the boys.
“We’re a young squad so it was encouraging they were able to switch up their game.”
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