The Light Blues have a chance to prove they can still mix it with the best when The Highlanders come to Ibrox for the Scottish Communities League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.
And after dispatching Motherwell in the last round, the Gers boss believes his young stars can prove their worth yet again.
McCoist, whose side beat Clyde 2-0 yesterday, said: "First and foremost, we would just like to progress in the competition and the fact we can reach Hampden Park if we win is additional motivation for everyone.
"We're definitely looking forward to playing against Caley Thistle. However, we are under no illusions as to how difficult a game it will be. Caley Thistle are a very good outfit and big Terry will have them pumped up for the game as well.
"We've already played against SPL opposition in the competition when we played Motherwell at home in the last round and I have to say I think that is certainly the best we have played so far this season.
"So, hopefully, we can put in a performance of that standard this week."
McCoist is also pleased to be going into the game this week having finally managed to secure a league win on the road.
Dean Shiels opened the scoring with an excellent strike before Lee McCulloch added a second late in the game.
McCoist added: "I was delighted with the result. We're still not taking as many chances as we'd like but we certainly created a few and hit the woodwork.
"We scored a wonderful first goal through Dean Shiels and Lee McCulloch just kept going. I said to him that in that position even when you think it's not going to be your day you'll get a chance.
"There is obviously room for improvement but we feel as though we are getting there. We have maybe toughened up a little, we now know what to expect and we are getting on with it."
