Adam Barton confident Partick can bounce back after sloppy show against Airdrie
Adam Barton admits Partick Thistle's sloppy show against Airdrie was just the wake-up call they needed after their sizzling St Mirren display.
Jags fans started dreaming their side were on the brink of something special after putting five past Jack Ross' Buddies in last weekend's Betfred Cup showdown.
Yet they were far from their best on Tuesday night as they scraped past the Diamonds 2-1 at the Excelsior Stadium.
But Barton reckons that performance will ensure there is no complacency as they build up to Saturday's final Group H clash with Stranraer and next week's Ladbrokes Premiership opener at Hibernian.
The big defender - whose side should progress to the second round as runners-up to section winners Livingston so long as they do not slip up at home to the Blues - said: "People were going home from the game on Saturday thinking we were brilliant, we were unbelievable, that we were going to do this that and the other.
"But then on Tuesday it was like, 'Oh hang on, we're not'.
"So we need to keep our heads level and do the hard things in the game like working off the ball.
"It was important we had a lesson like that at this stage. It's a bit of a wake-up call.
"It's good we've got one more game at home leading into the league campaign as we need to hit that with a bang this year.
"We're also now in a good position in terms of the League Cup and we don't want to let that slip.
"It's a game we need to take confidence from. Even if it gets too easy, which can happen sometimes in these games against lower league teams, we need to keep going.
"Last Saturday we kept going but against Airdrie we took our foot off the gas and they scored, so we know if we do it again we'll get punished.
"If we can play well, get a good result then it will help us start with that big bang.