DAN SEABORNE is determined not to allow Partick Thistle's heavy League Cup defeat by Celtic knock the Firhill side off their stride this season.
Alan Archibald's team return to SPFL Premiership duty against Hamilton Academical today with the intention of banishing the memories of their 6-0 defeat at Celtic Park.
It was a night to forget for Thistle as Celtic ran riot. However, Seaborne insists that they can bounce back this afternoon. "The way we lost the game and the goals was very disappointing and we know we are better than that," said the Thistle defender, whose club have appealed the red card shown to Stuart Bannigan during the cup defeat.
"The lads will have no problem going again and, in some respects, it might be a blessing in disguise because we can now focus on the league. It would have been nice to get into the semi-finals, but we have everything to play for in the league and we want to get it out of our system quickly.
"I have had plenty of bad results in my career, I have been beaten 6-1 at home and gone on to win the league. At Southampton, we lost when we were huge favourites, so losing is something that happens in the game and it is about how you bounce back. We will be in the right frame of mind and the lads will want to put it right."
Thistle head to New Douglas Park 12 points adrift of their hosts, with Alex Neil having maintained the Lanarkshire side's stunning start to the campaign since returning to the top flight in the summer.
By contrast, a lack of consistency has plagued Thistle so far this term, but Seaborne believes they are more than a match for anyone on their day. "They have had a great start and done really well playing a good style of pressing football," he said.
"The manager has them playing well, so it is going to be a tough game for us. But, on our day, we are a good side and are more than capable of beating them. It will be an interesting game and both teams will be looking to put right the results from their cup defeats."
Seaborne has been one of Thistle's most impressive performers this season following his summer move to Firhill, after his release by Coventry City. The move has proven to be mutually beneficial too, since the 27-year-old has rediscovered his love of the game in Glasgow.
"I didn't enjoy football for a couple of years, but I am really enjoying it again here," he said. "It was a low on Wednesday night but overall it has been a great move. I have got my best years ahead of me and hopefully I can help the lads here to a lot of success."
Hamilton have enjoyed most of the success this season. Their impressive start to the campaign has been highlighted by the surprise which has greeted their consecutive defeats - Hamilton lost last weekend against Dundee in the league and were then knocked out of the League Cup by Aberdeen.
The Lanarkshire side had lost just once previously this season. That came on the opening day against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and was followed by an 11-match unbeaten run which included a win away to Celtic in the league, taking the club to the top of the Premiership table. It is a position which Hamilton retain despite their defeat by Dundee.
"If you look at a club of our size, to go a full year only losing two games in a trot is remarkable really," said Neil, the Hamilton player-manager.
"After the Inverness game, everyone was saying we would be lucky to string two wins together. It is credit to how well the players have done. We are top of the league after 11 games and it really doesn't get much better than this for us, albeit we have lost two games.
"23 points after 11 games is a magnificent start and we need to maintain that as long as possible. Out of 13 or 14 games this season, the Aberdeen game in midweek is the one where we haven't really performed so that is a good ratio as far as I am concerned.
"Over the last year our record has been excellent and we have bounced back really well from defeats. What we need to do now is focus on the things that got us where we are but that is not easy to maintain. [Today] we will be looking to first and foremost put on a good performance and the result will take care of itself."
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