The skipper was hugely disappointed to be on the end of a 3-0 defeat to the Highlanders at Ibrox last night and there is no doubt Terry Butcher’s men deserved their emphatic victory.
For the young players in the Light Blues team, McCulloch hopes the loss is something which helps to build character as a clutch of emerging players settle into the team.
But he is looking for everyone to respond in the right way when Alloa come to Ibrox for Saturday’s third round tie in the Scottish Cup.
McCulloch knows it will be a difficult fixture against a team which won the Third Division last season and lies directly behind leaders Queen of the South in the Second at present.
Nevertheless, the captain wants to see a good reaction against the Wasps as Gers seek a quick recovery from their loss to Caley Jags.
McCulloch said: “At times against Inverness, we found it difficult with the shape they were playing and we were a bit harem scarem at times.
“They picked us off very well and wee Andy Shinnie caused us all sorts of problems all night.
“In a way, it’s maybe a good thing for the young boys to see this side of it. It’s something that happens which we all need to learn from in the right way.
“One thing we can’t do is make a habit of it and the good thing is we have a chance straight away to put things right against Alloa.
“They will give us a hard game on Saturday though. They are a good team with a good manager and they are very well organised just as Inverness are.
“That sort of thing has been causing us problems so we must be ready for that. They’ll come with a game plan and it’s a game we need to start well in.
“If we don’t do that and they take a bit of confidence from knocking the ball about, we could find ourselves in trouble again. Hopefully we can avoid that.”
