ALAN ARCHIBALD hopes Partick Thistle are heading the right direction once again - despite losing to Dundee on Saturday.

The Jags went into the Dens Park clash on the back of defeat to St Mirren, Inverness Caley Thistle and Celtic at Firhill and turned in a much improved performance on Tayside.

They were still left with nothing to show for their efforts, however, with Paul McGowan's late strike snatching all three points for Paul Hartley's side.

Thistle are ninth in the Premiership standings and just seven points clear of the Saints and Motherwell ahead of a huge few weeks that sees them face bottom of the table Ross County twice, either side of a trip to Tannadice.

The Jags are in need of a spark to their season to ensure they won't face another battle against the drop in the final few weeks of the campaign.

And Archibald is keen to take the silver linings from the dark cloud of the Dundee defeat at the weekend.

He said: "There were positives in the way we played but obviously we were disappointed with the result.

"We were by far the better side, especially in the first half, and we dominated the game, which is something we haven't done for the last few weeks.

"We were pleased with that aspect of it but we didn't get the result and that was frustrating. The performance was good and that is what we must take from it.

"We have been on a run of games where we haven't played that well. It is important that we win games and we know that.

"But, because of the way we have been playing of late, it hasn't been that great, we needed to put in a performance as well.

"We have got a big few weeks coming up and we know we can get dragged back into it at the bottom of the table so it is important that we get back to playing well and picking up points.

"We had a few weeks where we were doing neither so hopefully Dundee was a step in the right direction and we can pick up a couple of results in the coming games. We are at home to County this weekend and it is a great chance for us to increase that gap."

As well as an improved team performance, the showing of winger Declan McDaid was another source of encouragement for boss Archibald at the weekend.

As revealed in SportTimes on Wednesday, the 19-year-old has put pen-to-paper on a contract extension at Firhill.

And Archibald is pleased to see McDaid make the most of his chance to shine after he started the last two Premiership clashes.

He said: "I am delighted to get Declan tied up. He has done really well for us.

"Against Celtic, he didn't give the ball away and worked really hard, he was one of the pleasing aspects of a bad night, and I thought he was excellent at the weekend.

"He has worked hard all season. He worked hard in the summer and got himself fitter and we see him as a first team player now.

"He has been about the squad since pre-season and the other players see him as a first team player now as well. It is great. He is a young lad that has still got a lot to learn but he has taken a lot on board.

"One of the advantages of being in the Premiership is the Under-20 league because it gives boys a chance to showcase themselves and play in the stadiums and against more experienced players at times as well.

"We are pleased with how our lads are doing and hopefully there is more to come from them."