“I think we expected a tough game but it was actually not as tough as we thought even although we have lost the game.

“We have come down here before over the past couple of years and we have always found it tougher than we did tonight.

“I thought we had total dominance of the game.

“We had a couple of corners and a couple of passages of play before they get the goal. It was a poor goal to lose. We do not defend their first attack but there was still plenty of time. What pleased me was the response from the players was excellent. Everyone took responsibility for the situation. The responsibility from each and every one of the players was excellent. And that pleases me because there was such a high level of performance from the players tonight.

“McLean was like a Rolls Royce out there. He was absolutely everywhere and making things happen. Shinnie and Jack were relentless, Considine was excellent. There were numerous top performers. I thought Devlin was particularly good for Hamilton. He was outstanding. He had a couple of very good headers and blocks.

“We dominated and we are disappointed not come away with the three points.

“I thought Niall was fouled in the first half as he ran through. My first reaction was that it was just outside the box, but I thought Niall was in a good position to pull the trigger. The referee has allowed the play to go on to see what would happen with Rooney but I still feel it should have been pulled back and maybe further action taken. I thought the referee managed the game quite well tonight. He was well on top of some of the stuff that was going on.

“I was enjoying watching us.

“I was enjoying the fact we were not panicking. We were not letting the situation get the better of us. My players were still showing for the ball and were getting on it. I thought we tried to do the right things and worked the ball into good areas. Once we forced them deep we got plenty of crosses into the box and there was a sheer willingness for the players to make it happen for us but sometimes it is not meant to be. Maybe we needed that bit more ruthlessness to get the ball into the net.

“There is no joy from losing a game but you can still be proud of your team and admire some of your qualities and there was many tonight.

“We are here to win and we are disappointed we have not won. That is why we work so hard to prepare, it is to win and we have not done that. But as I say the level of performances pleased me.”

“We are here to win and we are disappointed we have not won. That is why we work so hard to prepare, it is to win and we have not done that. But as I say the level of performances pleased me.”