Kilmarnock manager Lee McCulloch feels his side are making gradual progress despite being made to wait for their first Ladbrokes Premiership win following a 1-1 home draw with Dundee.
Gordon Greer atoned for an early slip, which ultimately led to Faissal El Bakhtaoui's opener, to secure a point with a 64th-minute strike after Kris Boyd had headed back a corner within 60 seconds of coming on to join Lee Erwin up front.
Erwin had a series of first-half efforts saved and Boyd missed a glorious chance with the last kick of the ball as Killie remained on the bottom of the table.
El Bakhtaoui came closest to a winner with a long-range strike which hit the bar but McCulloch saw enough to be encouraged.
"There were a good few chances in the match and on another day we could have got two or three goals," he said. "But we are slowly, slowly showing progress.
"We've only lost once in our last four games. We're still searching for our first win, which is hopefully going to come soon. There will be lots of positivity coming from the dressing room and myself."
McCulloch will drill into the optimism in a bid to counter negativity from outside, which he feels is having an impact. Killie lost a goal inside the first 10 minutes for the fifth time this season.
"In the first half certain boys showed a nervousness," he said. "I think that comes from all the negative talk around this place. There's a little bit of nervousness there but once we conceded the goal we showed great character and we should have won the game."
Dundee boss Neil McCann did not disagree after his side failed to build on their fourth-minute opener.
"Very frustrating because I am expecting a lot better from us," he said. "I'm happy with the point because it could have been none.
"A lot of the performance - the slackness, giving up possession, no spark in the game - was probably down to our efforts on Wednesday night. It was a big game for us on Wednesday and the boys went at it 100 per cent against a top Celtic side and I think it caught up with us.
"We got off to a wonderful start and got into decent areas and just had no spark at all. The ball kept coming back and we were having to defend attacks."
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