It was a frustrating Easter Sunday for Hearts boss Derek McInnes.
Away from home against a Livingston side who look destined for relegation, the league leaders let a 2-1 lead slip and ultimately dropped two points.
McInnes hasn’t been subtle in his attempts to shape the narrative surrounding his unlikely title contenders, often pointing towards Glasgow for distraction.
But after the Livi draw – in which Hearts received their fifth red card of the season – eyes and ears were firmly on McInnes.
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Derek McInnes says Hearts draw feels like ‘two points dropped’
Speaking after the game, the Hearts boss said: “Yeah, I thought we were in a really good position in the game.
“To get ourselves in front and then not see it through is disappointing.” I thought there was a lot of good things in our performance…
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“But ultimately, when you get yourself ahead like that, you’ve got to be better at managing the game.
“Livingston kept going, to be fair to them. They put us under pressure, got balls in the box, and we didn’t deal with it well enough.”
“We’ve got to take responsibility for that. It’s a game we should be winning. At this stage of the season, these are big points. And it feels like two points dropped rather than one gained.”
He later told the BBC: “We’re one point clear with six games to go. We’re still top of the league, and people need to remember that.
“I’m trying to keep myself in check with that. It’s a missed opportunity today, because we came here with a lot of motivation, and a lot of expectation on ourselves.
“But we have to be honest and say that the point was probably all that we deserved. And for me, it might be a really important point come the end of the season.
“So we’re not going to get too hung up on it, but it does put more scrutiny on the games coming up.
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“And obviously we want to make sure we win the next home game, which will be tough enough as well.”
Hearts face Motherwell at Tynecastle next week before the split, after which they will play at Celtic Park in a crucial run-in fixture.
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