Hearts boss Derek McInnes insists bubble hasn't burst after first Premiership defeat of the season

Hearts boss Derek McInnes insists he has no doubt his players will bounce back from their first defeat of the season.

The Premiership leaders travelled to Pittodrie today looking to maintain their unbeaten run and extend their advantage over Celtic at the top of the table.

But, despite dominating much of the contest, they couldn’t find a way through a resolute Dons side who took all three points courtesy of Topi Keskinen’s goal in the closing minutes of the first half.

Hearts remain just four points ahead of the Parkhead side after their dramatic late victory over St Mirren in Paisley, but McInnes was refusing to panic.

‘We were always going to lose a game,’ said the former Aberdeen manager after the 1-0 loss. ‘We wanted to keep that [a defeat] as far away from the door as possible.

‘We thought we’d done enough today not to lose the game. I thought we were the better team, but if you don’t show the quality that we clearly lacked today, then you’re not going to win at a place like Pittodrie.

‘I thought we were decent throughout the game, to be honest. We had good poise in the game and I thought we created some good moments.

‘If you don’t take your chances here, if you don’t show the quality and composure that’s needed to come and win at Pittodrie, then you run the risk of losing the game.

‘We didn’t really have too much to do defensively, but we lose on our transition. We give the ball away 20-30 yards into their half and it’s one pass forward and, before we know it, we’re in a difficult situation.

‘I thought we needed to take more care at times. In the second half, we wanted to put more crosses in the box. I still thought we could have put more crosses in the box and we missed good chances.

‘However, we have lost the game and it’s all about the reaction.

‘Sometimes you need to find out about your team in these certain moments and your squad. I’m really confident with what we’ve got in the building. This isn’t something that we think will affect us.

‘I’m not going to be critical of the players because they’ve been absolutely first class. It’s the first time I’ve stayed unbeaten as a manager in the league way into November, so I’m grateful for what we’ve got here and we’ll go again.'

McInnes had to do without his captain Lawrence Shankland for the trip north after the Scotland striker picked up a calf injury in training last Friday, but the manager hopes it won’t be long before his main man is back in the fold.

‘He’s got a scan tomorrow [Monday],’ he revealed. ‘I spoke to him this morning and he felt better.

‘He says he didn’t think it was anything too significant. It seems to be a quick improvement from Saturday.

‘I’m hoping we can get a wee bit of a rub of the green with that one.’

Aberdeen counterpart Jimmy Thelin was delighted to mark his 50th league match as Dons manager with a hard-fought victory.

His team maintained their recent improvement in form following a dreadful start to the campaign which had some sections of the Dons support calling for his head.

‘We are a hard-working team and a team full of good characters,’ said the Swede. ‘We have a tough start of the season and a lot of new players.

‘We’ve changed the system and the players are adapting. In the last six games I think it’s four wins, one draw and one loss. In a difficult situation, the players show a lot of good team spirit.

‘They talk about responsibility and accountability as a team and as an individual. That’s why they always get what they deserve.

‘You always have to start with the individual responsibility to create a good collective team.’