RYAN STEVENSON reckons the visit of Celtic tonight is the ideal occasion for Partick Thistle to put their cup heartache behind them.

Alan Archibald's side welcome the Hoops to Firhill just days after they turned in a shocking showing and crashed out of the Scottish Cup against Inverness Caley Thistle.

A Lyle Taylor strike in the second half was to prove scant consolation for the Jags as they missed out on a place in the quarter-finals and failed to shine on the big stage.

The visit of Ronny Deila's side is their first chance to get back on track and add another crucial three points to their Premiership tally, and striker Stevenson is determined they will make the most of the derby clash as they look to upset the odds.

He said: "It was so disappointing because it was a massive chance for us to go on a cup run. We let ourselves and the fans down with the first-half performance and we were lucky to go in only 2-0 down.

"There were a few harsh words spoken by the manager after that and the St Mirren defeat. But games don't come bigger than Celtic and we're looking to take something from them.

"There's no expectations on us. They are playing really well, the best form they've been in all season. We can play with a bit of freedom and, when we are on our game at home, we usually do okay.

"Hopefully we can put on a good performance and get something because when we play to our best we are a decent team. We took five off Hamilton a couple of weeks ago.

"We played well in the first half against St Mirren and in the second period against Inverness. If we can do it over the 90 minutes then we can give Celtic a good game."

It was to prove one of the most disappointing afternoons at the office for boss Archibald at the weekend as his side failed to fire and saw their cup dreams ended at Firhill.

The Jags did improve slightly after a horror fopening 45 minutes, and Stevenson is keen to take any positives he can into the Hoops showdown.

He said: "My confidence is fine. I don't try and dwell on bad stuff. My glass is always half full. The second-half performance was a lot better and Inverness had to dig in to hold on.

"They are third in the league, they are a good team and we had them pinned in. So our confidence is fine. We feel that we can give anyone a game on our day."

While the Jags have been boosted by the return of strike star Taylor to the club, it is one of Scotland's in-form forwards that all eyes will again be on at Firhill.

Leigh Griffiths has netted three goals in his last four outings in green and white, and Stevenson knows the Thistle rearguard will face a tough test tonight.

He said: "To be fair to Leigh, he's faced adversity through his career and he has always comes back stronger. He bounces back and gets stronger every time. He's doing really well for them. He's a massive threat and we will need to watch out for him.

"It was a big move for Leigh and many people who found themselves in the situation he did earlier in the season may have fallen by the wayside.

"But he's come back in and he's scored against Rangers and he's doing really well. He's always been a good player. Nothing really fazes him."