Christie Elliott has called upon his Partick Thistle teammates to put their Scottish Cup heartache behind them by storming into the Premiership’s top six.

Elliott and his teammates were bitterly disappointed to exit at the quarter final stage at Pittodrie on Sunday, particularly as they went out with something of a whimper, failing to trouble the Aberdeen defence on the day.

But with a key game on Saturday at Firhill against bottom side Inverness looming, Elliott knows they don’t have any time to feel sorry for themselves.

And he reckons that with the form Thistle have been in, they should still be high on confidence going into the fixture.

“We were all so gutted to go out of the cup on Sunday,” Elliott said.

“It was a difficult day for us and we were nowhere near our best, particularly going forward. At the back, I think we were ok, and we have been doing really well for a while now defensively.

“But the most annoying thing was that we couldn’t really trouble their keeper at all. It wasn’t for the lack of trying, but you have to remember that Aberdeen are a really good team and they played well on the day.

“We had a huge following that came all the way up there to support us though, and we really wanted to give them something to cheer.

“It wasn’t to be, but the fans have been brilliant all year and I’m sure they will continue to back us as we make that last push for the top six.”

There is no doubt that making it into that top half is now the sole aim for Elliott and his teammates, and he says that the Thistle squad are determined not to miss out this year after coming so close last term.

“We have had a tricky run of games over the last little while, but no disrespect to Inverness, these are the types of games we really have to be winning if we want to make the top six," he said.

“We’ve had eight clean sheets in our last 11 and we have to make sure that we get it right defensively as a team again and take them as seriously as we would anyone else.

“If we can do that and provide a little bit more ammunition to the guys up front this time, then we’ve got to be confident that we can get a result.”

Elliott has long been known as the utility man of the Jags squad, and he has failed to nail down a regular position as a consequence in the last couple of seasons.

His confidence was given a fillip by his manager though as he retained his place at right wing-back on Sunday despite the return of Mustapha Dumbuya from injury.

“It was great to stay in the team for the cup game, it shows I must have been doing something right," he said.

“Playing at wing-back is a big departure from where I played when I first came to the club, I was always more of an attacking player.

“I had to develop defensively when playing at full-back previously though, so I think having both of those strings to my bow means that playing at wing-back really suits my strengths.”

Elliott is hoping that he can maintain his place in the team for a bit longer for a very good reason – his contract is up at the end of the season.

He is desperate to stay at Firhill, and thinks he can show his boss Alan Archibald that it would be worthwhile keeping him around.

“My deal is up in the summer but I’m trying not to think about that just now,” he said.

“I haven’t spoken to the club yet about it, but I would love to stay here, and if I concentrate on my football then that will all take care of itself.”