KRIS DOOLAN is confident Partick Thistle can rediscover their cutting edge in front of goal this weekend.

Alan Archibald's side fired a blank against Aberdeen on Sunday as they slipped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat.

The Jags spurned three good chances as James Craigen fired wide early on before Stuart Bannigan and Abdul Osman failed to find the net with late headers.

It was to prove a frustrating afternoon for striker Doolan as he barely had a sniff of Scott Brown's goal.

Doolan has three strikes to his credit already this term having netted against Morton, St Mirren and Motherwell.

And the 28-year-old is keen to move on from a shot-shy showing against the Dons.

He said: "We had a couple of chances but we never created enough unfortunately. We just didn't have that final pass to put someone into a scoring position or to open them up enough. We need to do better.

"We need to keep working hard and look to get in those scoring positions. It will come.

"There is no reason to be worried about it.

"It is frustrating when you don't score. There are games when you get chance after chance and others where you don't even get half a chance, unless you pick the ball up and go from the halfway line.

"I have done that before but they are few and far between.

"You need people to create round about you, so hopefully that starts on Saturday."

Archibald may have been frustrated with the performance and result, as Adam Rooney's penalty condemned his side to a Premiership defeat, but there were positives for the Firhill gaffer.

Midfield duo Gary Fraser and Kallum Higginbotham both came off the bench as they continue their recovery from injury lay-offs.

In their absence, Christie Elliott has made the most of his chance to impress while Steven Lawless was yesterday named the McCrea Financial Services Player of the Month. Doolan said: "The manager has got options and the boys are back after their injuries.

"It is good to have a good squad to choose from again. It is good to have Ryan Stevenson there. He is a different option to myself.

"He offers support and he is always there to help out. He is not just there as a direct replacement for me.

"He is a good option for the manager to have. I can play off him or he can play off of me, so the manager does have options."

Thistle will take a break from Premiership duty when they return to Scottish Cup action this weekend.

The Jags will face Hamilton Accies for the third time this term aiming to record their first win of the season over Alex Neil's side.

And Doolan is determined to get back on track at Firhill. He said: "Sunday's defeat was tough to take when you look at the build-up to the penalty.

"We have been on a decent enough run and it was disappointing for that to come to an end. But it means we have to kick start another run and that starts on Saturday.

"It is a home tie and a chance for us to hopefully start another good run.

"We will take the game to them and hopefully we can get into the next round."