Inside the Hearts dressing room after Kilmarnock setback and what Derek McInnes told players about title race

Craig Halkett insists external title race chatter has turned white noise at Tynecastle - as he revealed boss Derek McInnes’ post-match message after defeat versus Kilmarnock.

The defender has reacted after the Jambos suffered a 1-0 loss at Rugby Park. Michael Schjonning-Larsen’s first half goal inflicted a weighty title race punch on the Jambos bid for a first top flight honour since 1960, with Celtic winning 3-1 against Motherwell at Parkhead to move within two points of them.

Next up for McInnes and his players is a home clash with Dundee next weekend as they aim to stay top heading into the final international break of this season. Halkett has now lifted the lid on what kind of conversations were had inside the away dressing room in Ayrshire and said McInnes was keen to emphasise how good a position Hearts remain in, as a win over Dundee ensures a response and first place heading into April.

What did Hearts players say about loss vs Kilmarnock?

"The manager had a good talk after it,” said Halkett. “He had a bit of a go at us at half-time, rightly so, because we didn't start the game well. I think the second half performance was a wee bit better but in the end it wasn't enough to get anything from the game. The manager spoke for most of the time.

“The players will go away disappointed tomorrow and come back in. The players will probably chat as the first couple of days of the week goes on. It's one of those games where you get the disappointment out of the way early because you've got another massive game on the weekend. It was something that the manager reminded us of down there. We're still in a brilliant position. I think anybody else in the league would bite their hand off to be in the position we're in.

“As disappointing as Saturday was, we're all going to be frustrated with it, but we've got to remember where we are and where we've been. Like you said, we've been in a great position for quite a number of months now. It's important that we don't get too disappointed with what's happened. Like I said, we've lost a big game that we thought we could go and get three points from, but we didn't. We've got to take it on a chin and move on quickly."

Noise was particularly loud after Hearts’ last defeat against Rangers narrowed the gap again, but both the Ibrox side and Celtic would drop points in the intervening period that Hearts defeated Falkirk and Aberdeen at Tynecastle. Halkett insists it’s important for the team not to get bogged down on what those outside of the inner sanctum are saying.

How do Hearts respond to defeat?

"I'm not going to be naïve enough to say that I don't hear anything, “ said the defender. “You've got family members and you've got friends that are all invested in it. Like I said, after the Rangers game, it was a hard defeat to take at the time and there was a lot of noise about it, but we've done what we've done in the majority of the season. We bounce back the next week. The week after that, won a couple of games and straight away everyone forgets about that game and it's back on.Hearts are doing brilliant. It's easy for us. We just get our heads down and try and focus on the next game."

McInnes’ side have been rocked by several injuries including talisman Lawrence Shankland and influential midfielder Cammy Devlin. With their returns on the horizon pre-split, Halkett insists it will be a major boost for the squad to see them back into full training ahead of Dundee.

”It’ll be huge, added Halkett. “We had Oisin McEntee back which was a great positive. Like you said, we're going to have a few more back in the next few games. Shanks and Cammy, everyone knows how important they are to our team and how good a season we were having before they got injured. So to get the both of them back this week in full training will be huge. It'll just give everyone a massive lift. We'll get over the disappointment quickly. We'll come back in and get the boys back in training. The mood will be lifted really quickly. The two boys will bring real positivity and we'll all be fully focused on the Dundee game next week.

“We went on a run of six or seven games without the two of them. Two massive players for our team. I know there's loads of teams in the league that have had injuries but they're two really influential players on our team. We've picked up a lot of positive results. It gives everyone in the squad huge encouragement. We know we've got a big squad down there and people need to step up when people get injured and I think they have done. Everyone will get a massive lift for the two of them coming back into the squad."