‘We have got a dressing room full of disappointed players, it wasn’t the result we were looking for.

“We knew that it was going to be tough tonight coming up against a team that are in good form. We started really well when Shinnie rattled one off the bar. Towards the end of the first half it was too pedestrian at times.

“The pitch doesn’t help, it affects both sets of players but players who want to run with the ball find it difficult. Players don’t trust it and there were times when players were taking touches instead of just putting their foot through it.

“We had plenty crosses, sixteen shots and plenty set-plays but we haven’t found enough quality to win the game. We are disappointed, I thought we were the better team and kept a good Thistle team at arm’s length.

“At times we are very reliant on Adam to score goals. He has missed a chance tonight but he normally puts them away.

“The players put plenty into it and we stay unbeaten with a point and a clean sheet but it wasn’t the result we were looking for.

“We said to the players at half-time that we have been here before.

“Whether we have got a chance to go top or not there is always the demand to win any game here at Pittodrie, that is the nature of it. We told the players to trust themselves and to get into positions to score and we did that tonight but at times were taking an extra touch instead of being instinctive and sometimes that can happen on a difficult surface.

“There is no problem about playing at home, the players are better than that. We know how to deal with certain situations home and away but the intention is always to win. Thistle played the way that they normally play. They will be pleased with a point but I don’t think they came here to defend and frustrate. From our point of view we have got to come up with the answers.

“Next up is a trip to Perth. St Johnstone are a very consistent team. Most managers will say the same, we always expect a tough match. They are more than just a hard-working team, they have got some very good players. It will probably be another difficult surface but hopefully we can get through that and come away with the 3 points.

“We are joint top, we aren’t clear where we wanted to be but you don’t have to look too far back to when people would have been jumping at the chance to be joint top at the turn of the year. We need to remind ourselves that there is a lot of good things going on at the club with a lot of good players who set themselves high standards and tonight we just never got to where we wanted to be.

“Nearly 13,000 tonight when a lot of people were probably put off with the weather and roads closed so I would like to thank every one of them for coming. They are as disappointed as we are but I think they recognise that there is a lot of good about the team.

“We have got to consider if good players come available but we had a fully fit squad up until tonight when Ryan going out injured. We will see how we go over the next few games but I wouldn’t say that we won’t be active (in the January transfer window). There won’t be any signings coming in before St Johnstone but we have got to make sure that we have a squad capable of meeting the demands on us for the rest of the season, we will see how things go.”