Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he took plenty of positives from Manchester United's 2-0 defeat by Liverpool on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp's side moved 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with victory over their arch-rivals at Anfield.
The win was not sealed until Mohamed Salah's injury-time strike, however, with United remaining in the game until late on.
And Solskjaer believes his team made "strides forward" despite suffering their seventh loss of the season so far.
"We lost to Liverpool. A team that you all say are fantastic and we've been in the game until the last kick of the ball. For me, that's strides forward," he said.
"Of course we're disappointed losing the game. We don't want to be behind them in the league. But there are signs there that we're on the right track, definitely."
Marcus Rashford will play no part in Wednesday's clash with Burnley after suffering a double stress fracture in his back which will keep the forward out for at least two months.
United are believed to be targeting new additions in the January transfer window to cover for the absence of Rashford and others, but Solskjaer says he is fully focused on this week's match.
"Now is not the time to start talking about the recruitment," he said. "For me, we're looking towards the next game, to Burnley.
"We're always looking to improve the squad, we're looking to improve the club but now is not the time to start that discussion.
"He's not had that injury before, no," he added on Rashford's ailment. "He complained the last time we played Burnley (December 28).
"We managed him well. He had some days off with treatment, we took him off in some games, he didn't start every game. This was a new injury, so he didn't have any injuries before then. He'll get the time he needs to recover.
"We're always looking at improving the squad to see if there's anything out there. But there's nothing I can talk about now."
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