Gareth Southgate praised his Middlesbrough players for a spirited performance following the 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
Boro kept United at bay in the first half but Dimitar Berbatov struck in the 69th minute to secure all three points for the defending Premier League champions.
The result leaves Boro hovering just above the relegation zone and Southgate admits it was disappointing to lose, but he maintained a positive mindset in defeat.
"I thought there were a lot of good things about that performance," he said.
"We were very disappointed how we played on Friday (a 1-0 defeat to Everton) and it was important to restore some pride.
"I thought we were quite bright in a lot of our play, we were very resilient today and our keeper has made some good saves, but generally our discipline in terms of tactics was good.
"Our quality in the final third was what let us down. We got in some good positions and made some good breaks but didn't make the most of the situations we were in and didn't really test the keeper."
Boro face Sunderland in their next league game and Southgate does not believe there is any reason to panic.
He added: "It was an improvement. We knew it was a shot to nothing because only Newcastle have drawn here but today was really about giving a performance that gives us some belief going forward.
"I thought that did, which was important, because it is what we do from here on in that matters."
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