‘Playing with fire’ catches up with 10-man Hearts – McInnes

Former Hearts forward Ryan Stevenson: “Everyone will look back at the sending off as the pivotal moment. From minute one was pivotal. The way they started the game, it’s the first time I’ve seen them this season as bad as that.

“The sending off was calamitous. In that video meeting, watching it back, they’ll be cringing. There were so many wrong decisions.

“It was so bad, all across the park. They never held the ball up up top, didn’t make runs in behind to ask questions.

“They were so passive, St Mirren won every second ball that bounced in the middle of the park.

“It happens. Everybody will jump on the bandwagon and say ‘this is it, they’re stuttering’.

“They’ve never been in this position. It’s been 40 years since Aberdeen were in this position, none of us are used to this.

“If I were Derek McInnes I’d be saying ‘you’ve got the weekend off, what a game to bounce back in with the derby on Tuesday night’.

“It’s still in their hands. You can’t be doom and gloom about it because they have to brush themselves down and go again but they cannot let that performance happen again.

Former St Mirren striker Steven Thompson: “There’ll be huge twists and turns before the end of the season. Tonight is a blip for Hearts, but it’s difficult to win every game.

“Between now and the end of the season, a Motherwell or someone else is taking points off Rangers, Celtic and Hearts. They’ll take points off each other.

“Hearts have set such a high bar and it was strange to be so far off it. Sometimes, when you’re not playing well as a team, you can carry two or three passengers.

“Tonight, there was far too many. It doesn’t happen often for this Hearts team but when it happens, you can’t win games.”