Glasgow now have five days in which to carry out the recovery work required to banish the disappointing memory of their opening night 18-10 defeat to Ulster at Ravenhill.

This work is essential if the Warriors are to emerge victorious from their first professional fixture at the new Scotstoun Stadium.

Improvements at set-pieces and discipline will surely be at the forefront of coach Gregor Townsend's thinking to ensure Friday's housewarming party in the west of the city doesn't fall flat, especially with the game against Scarlets on course for a 5250 sell-out.

But, amid the bitter aftertaste of defeat, hooker Finlay Gillies has no doubt that if Glasgow start the game the way they finished against the 2012 Heineken Cup finalists, when they came close to achieving a remarkable comeback, they will triumph over the visitors from Llanelli.

"There were a lot of positives to take from the Ulster game, but ultimately we were disappointed with the loss and rightly so," he said. "This Glasgow side are a top-four team and we are determined to win something this term, whether in the PRO12 or Europe.

"The days of going to places like Ulster and trying to avoid a defeat are just not acceptable to us anymore. There is a lot of frustration in the aftermath of Ravenhill, when a try scored when we were down to 14 men was the main difference.

"We are determined to use that frustration as a motivation to respond with a victory against Scarlets and launch our stay at Scotstoun in the most positive fashion possible."

The Ulster match was a battle of the new coaches with Mark Anscombe locking horns with Townsend for the first time from the dug-outs, but it was the New Zealander who watched his side craft a commanding 15-3 interval lead.

After the break Glasgow's former Ulster player Tommy Seymour atoned for a first-half sin-binning misdemeanour by latching on to a Ruaridh Jackson pass to go over the line and hand his side renewed hope, but a last-minute penalty from Niall O'Connor gave the hosts the breathing room they required to guarantee a winning start.

The breakneck speed of modern professional rugby means, however, there will be little time for wounds to be salved among the Glasgow contingent and Friday is already on Gillies's mind as Townsend plots an immediate response to his first defeat.

After the 23-year-old had seriously contemplated giving up on his pro dream to pursue a teaching career in physical education, he has been happy to grab the lifeline thrown in his direction by former Warriors coach Sean Lineen after an injury crisis last season.

Having seized the moment, and established his place, in the process overcoming the unorthodoxy of a five-foot eight inches and 209lbs frame, his tenacity was rewarded with a new deal from Townsend.

By Gillies's own admission it has been, by any standard, an amazingly positive reversal of fortune. He said: "The last two years have been unbelievable for me. At one point I had enrolled in the post-grad course with Glasgow University to do PE teaching as it appeared that it wasn't going to happen.

"But I have both Sean Lineen and Gregor Townsend to thank for my opportunity with Glasgow and to start in the opening PRO12 league game of the season at Ulster was a massive moment for me, despite the outcome

"It ultimately came down to making a choice between the post-grad course and rugby and, although I can always go back to teaching after my professional career is over, I obviously couldn't do it the other way around.

"But I am an ambitious individual and a determined one who wants to be the best he can be and, after making that start against Ulster, I want to stay in the team as much as possible and make the position my own, hopefully starting against Scarlets on Friday."