Ross County manager Malky Mackay took pride from the way his side performed in their 2-1 loss to runaway Premiership leaders Celtic.
The Staggies took the lead against the champions through David Cancola’s penalty, which put them on course for their first league victory at Parkhead.
County were ultimately undone by goals from David Turnbull and Sead Haksabanovic in the final match before the World Cup break.
Mackay was thrilled with the bravery of his side in their approach to facing a Hoops side who are now nine points clear at the top of the league.
He said: “I’ve got nothing but real pride in the players, with the belief they showed to come to Parkhead and limit Celtic to the chances we did.
“We had tactical discipline to play in a way that negated a lot of the real strengths Celtic have, and to threaten and press ourselves.
“That should give us a real bit of belief for the second half of the season.
“I knew after we scored Celtic would come at us. I was delighted that for the next five or 10 minutes we kept them pretty quiet, despite them coming at us strongly.
“The crowd got up, and at that point it was about trying to see the game out.
“They have a raft of players that come on who are top class, and just as good as what went off.
“We never quite managed it, but I’m really proud of the team.”
The Staggies will now break from action for five weeks, before returning at home to St Johnstone on December 17.
Prior to the encounter against Celtic, County racked up back-to-back victories over St Mirren and Hibernian to move off the foot of the table.
Mackay feels recent displays have set County up well for the remainder of the campaign.
He added: “We have had a really heavy week, with great results against St Mirren and Hibs.
“We never got back until 3am after the Hibs game, so that brings its own issues.
“The last couple of days have just been about recovering, and going into a game against the champions and the league leaders. It’s always going to be a tough game in front of 60,000, with the size of the pitch and the quality of players we are up against.
“To then go and play like that gives me great encouragement going into the next part of the season, with a group who are now beginning to understand the intensity of the league.
“We will build on the confidence of some of the young players over the next five weeks, and attack the second half of the season the way we did last year.”
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