Callum Davidson insists St Johnstone will quickly move on from their 4-1 Celtic Park defeat.
Doubles from Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate put the result in Glasgow beyond doubt before Drey Wright netted a consolation for the battling Perth side.
Saints entered the fixture on the back of a six-game unbeaten run but were unable to give travelling supporters the perfect Christmas gift.
Perth boss Davidson went with two strikers from the off in Stevie May and Nicky Clark - more attacking than many visits through the years - but the hosts were three up at the interval.
“I probably take a little bit of responsibility,” Davidson admitted.
“I went with two strikers and tried to go for an attacking formation and how we wanted to press them.
“We tried to press them a little higher but, when we got it wrong, they played into pockets and passes behind us.
“I take responsibility for that but I thought we actually played some decent stuff.
“You find yourself 3-0 down and then it is making sure it is a respectable scoreline. We changed the shape in the second half and the game died down towards the end.”
Davidson was pleased with the energy his substitutions brought to the game and the character his team showed to halt the scoreline from getting out of control.
He said: “At the moment Celtic are on a really good run and are a really good team.
“Sometimes you try and have a wee go at Celtic and they open you up.
“They scored one pretty early after half-time but I knew I had good substitutions, with good energy which could be sustained for 90 minutes.
“I’m just pleased with the character they have shown. Last season we went on to get beat 7-0 so it shows there might be more resilience in the team.”
Saints now welcome Hearts on December 28 and Davidson added: “We have been on a good run, we’re positive and the players are confident. We’ll move on and will concentrate on the Hearts game.”
