Derek McInnes calls for Hearts perspective as St Mirren 'yet to see an angle' that explains VAR call

The draw, coupled with Celtic’s win over Falkirk, cuts Hearts’ lead at the top of the table to six points but McInnes preferred to focus on the positives, highlighting the fact that his team still sits top of the pile after 10 matches, heading into November.

The manager acknowledged there is now a growing expectation that Hearts will win every match but, after twice battling back to draw level against a dogged St Mirren side before seeing a last-minute Pierre Landry Kabore ‘goal’ ruled out for offside, McInnes felt there was more to be pleased about than frustrated.

He said: “It’s a point at a notoriously difficult place. We’re going into November now, unbeaten, top of the league. If somebody had told me that at the start of the season, we'd be six points clear of Celtic after ten games we would have grabbed that. I think it's important for a bit of perspective.

“The players are a bit disappointed, which is not a bad thing for them to be disappointed. In the cold light of the day, we dust ourselves down. It will seem a more than decent point if we can win against Dundee on Saturday.

“I liked how we were at the end. I loved watching my team. Nobody was accepting of just a point and we kept trying to win. I loved that the fans all stayed because we've had so many late winners.

“They believe in the team. There's a trust there. There was another chance for us and it nearly came about for Kabore and what a good moment that would have been. Tonight we just fell short, but not from the want of trying.”

McInnes’ only gripe was the two goals his team shipped – to Dan Nludulu and Miguel Frecketon - that stemmed from dead ball deliveries.

He added: “I think it's a notoriously difficult place to come. We've got to deal with how St Mirren play and engage with our strikers really quickly. I thought their two strikers were a handful in the first half.

“We didn't quite deal with that. The goals we lose are poor as it’s two set play goals. We have got to accept our part in that. I thought the response was good. I was pleased with the performance in the main.”

St Mirren thought they had scored a third goal, again through Freckleton, only for VAR to chalk it off for an “impact offside” foul on Mark O’Hara on Lawrence Shankland.

Assistant manager Brian Kerr said: “We’re still yet to see an angle that shows us why the goal's been chopped off. Their interpretation on it is an impact offside on Mark O'Hara.

“We can't see any contact. We've seen a few different angles of it. We're yet to see an angle that shows us why the goal's been chopped off.”