Connor Scully has challenged Cove Rangers to build on their first clean sheet of the league season.
Cove had conceded nine goals in their first six League One fixtures in a slow start to the campaign.
However, the 1-0 win over Peterhead at the weekend was built on a stronger defensive base, eradicating the cheap goals they had been conceding.
Their only other clean sheet had come in the SPFL Trust Trophy against Stenhousemuir, in a game which saw Cove advance on penalties.
They conceded the joint-fewest goals in the division last season, matching the 18 recorded by eventual champions Partick Thistle.
Victory over the Blue Toon took Cove up to third in the table, with only three points separating the top seven teams.
“The clean sheet helped us massively,” said Scully. “We want to progress from this next week at home.
“We need to try keep clean sheets – that was a good thing about last season. We kept a lot of clean sheets and hopefully this is a starting point.
“We’ve been a bit stop-start. We’ve been affected by Covid but that’s not an excuse anymore. We’re all fit guys but it’s just not happened for us yet.”
The Aberdeen outfit take on Airdrieonians on Saturday at the Balmoral Stadium, the team which ended their chances of promotion last season.
The availability issues which dogged them at the start of the campaign appear to be subsiding, with the absentee list down to three for this weekend’s game.
Ryan Strachan, Ross Draper and Jevan Anderson are all out, however, Blair Yule returns to the squad after sitting out the Balmoor visit due to suspension.
Scully reckons more teams will find it difficult heading up to Peterhead this season, highlighting how competitive League One is from top to bottom.
He added: “You see how competitive the league is at the weekend. You just can’t go into a game in this league expecting to win. We’re going to have to give 100 per cent every game.
“It was a battle from start to finish. They made it very tough for us and I think a lot of teams will go up there and struggle.”