Essendon coach Mark Thompson is confident there is plenty of positives signs to take from Sunday’s 53 point loss to Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.

The continued improvement from Martin Gleeson and Jason Ashby playing across halfback was just one of the encouraging signs highlighted by the coach post match.

“We were really pleased with Gleeson, we were really pleased with Ashby and Van Unen played his first game for the club and he wasn’t our worst player by far,” Thompson said.

“I don’t see it is being completely bad, I think there is still a lot of positive signs considering the week we have had.”

“We still kicked goals in the last quarter and that is what I asked from them.”

“In the third quarter their spare player behind the ball really dominated but in the last quarter he didn’t so that still shows you that they (the players) are trying and thinking.”

“I like that sort of stuff because I have seen side’s capitulate in the last quarter and not care but our boys still cared.”

Thompson said the focus had already turned to how they would go about defeating the Saints on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.

“Whether we win or lose, whether we have been disgraceful or not, it doesn’t really matter because it is not about punishing the guys or being sad,” he said.

“It is about moving forward, getting the best performances, developing the people that aren’t right and getting them to be the best that we can be.”

“We move forward tomorrow and look forward to it (the match against St. Kilda).”

The scorching temperatures in excess of 33 degrees throughout the match weren’t an excuse the coach was willing to use after the match.

“It was a bit of a shock walking off the plane and feeling the heat but we still didn’t play our best footy,” Thompson said.

“It might have been personnel, it might have been losing Goddard early, it might have been a bit about the weather or it might have been about some blokes being sick during the week.”

“Overall I just had a bit of a feeling about the week, it has turned out that way but it’s not the end of the world as we are looking forward to playing St. Kilda in six days.”