TRAMADOL TO PLAY FOR

Pain killers put me in hospital trying to beat drop... I'm sure Shanks and Devlin would do same to win the title

- RYAN STEVENSON

TUESDAY night was a sore one. I'm not going to lie.

And, if you stick with me, I'll explain why I was still feeling the pain on Wednesday afternoon and why that dates back to a decision I made while trying to save Hearts from relegation after we had been plunged into administration more than a decade ago.

But, first, I’m still trying to get my head around where it went so wrong against St Mirren for the Jambos and why Paisley feels like kryptonite any time we go anywhere near the place.

Like I said, it hurts.

With so much at stake and history now so close that these players can reach out and touch it, I really didn't expect them to turn in a performance like that the other night.

It was a tough watch from my seat in the main stand on a bitterly cold night.

But I'm not about to hammer them for it either.

Derek McInnes and his players have done too much together over these last few months to start pressing the panic button now or to come down on them like a ton of bricks because of one sloppy 90 minutes.

Let's just say I hope this defeat comes as a reality check for the team and a reminder of what they did to get themselves into this position in the first place.