It's a worry three changes made Hearts 'considerably weaker'

It just had to be Aberdeen that gave Hearts a bloody nose in our fight to stay at the top of the league.

The way some Dons - and Hibs - supporters have gone on about Sunday's result, they'd have you believe it was a first-round knockout blow but the truth is Aberdeen scored with their only real effort on goal.

With Beni Baningime, Craig Halkett and Lawrence Shankland all absent, it's fair to say that we missed their experience and abilities at Pittodrie. Replacements Tomas Magnusson, Michael Steinwender and Landry Kabore didn't fare as well as hoped.

Much has been said about the quality of Hearts' squad this season but the fact we make three changes and our side is considerably weaker should be a worry given the 31 senior players we are carrying on the books.

If we have ambitions of challenging at the top end of the league, we should be able to adapt and have players come into the side, especially as suspensions and injuries impact the team throughout the campaign.

That said, it's important not to be knee jerk over a run of one victory in four games. You can make statistics suit your own narrative and if I look back with an optimistic lens, I'd say the defeat was Hearts' first in 90 minutes since April and in 17 league matches.

There will be expectations on us to bounce back with a win at Motherwell on Saturday where the visitors will have an incredible backing of 4,500 Jambos.

Derek McInnes' tactics have come under scrutiny in recent days – from his decision to persist with Oisin McEntee at right wing-back to his use of substitutes, so it will be intriguing to see how we line up against the Steelmen, who gave us a 60-minute pasting at Tynecastle earlier this season.