After a top-six finish on their Premiership return last term Dundee have found life tough this season with the departure of captain Luke McCowan to Celtic and another young group assembled to go again.
Docherty has made it clear that means there will be bumps in the road, but the marker for him is whether his team is learning, particularly when it comes to defending and not throwing games away.
However, this was evidence the group is learning after their collapse against Kilmarnock a month ago.
This time they were the side 2-0 down and dug deep to get themselves out of a tough spot, particularly as their form of one win in their last eight league games does not suggest a team full of confidence.
Docherty himself deserves immense credit for bringing on Jordan McGhee and Josh Mulligan at half-time to capitalise on the momentum they built at the end of the first half.
That will satisfy the Dundee boss, as will his first win as a manager against Derek McInnes, the man he assisted for over a decade.
It was all the more impressive from Dundee’s players given their team-mate Julien Vetro fainted in the dressing room before the match, delaying kick-off by 15 minutes.
However, the Frenchman went to hospital for checks and returned to Dens Park in time to celebrate an epic win with his team-mates.