AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri was eager to extract the positives from the goalless draw with Anderlecht in the Champions League.
Poor Serie A form was transferred on to the European stage as AC were held at the San Siro, but Allegri was not too downhearted.
Criticism has started to grow of his players as a result, with some media calling them the worst crop during Silvio Berlusconi's time as president.
But a defiant Allegri said: "I'm disappointed not to have won because the players have everything from a psychological and physical point of view, and that's not easy.
"Of course you need to win games but we took a small step forward and I am happy with what the players did."
Relief on the horizon does not appear to be coming, though, with a tough-looking fixture against Udinese next on the agenda.
"We will have to do the simple things well," Allegri added.
"We will also have to make changes because besides the physical energy, there's a lot of mental energy being spent and we need more time to get that back."
