Heart of Midlothian manager Steven Naismith expressed his disappointment at the award of Celtic's penalty that allowed them to take the lead in their 2-0 victory at Parkhead.

The Hearts boss cited examples shown by SFA chiefs ahead of the season amid the introduction of new guidelines, taking such factors into account as distance.

Like in the first half when referee Colin Steven awarded the visitors a penalty, only to overturn his decision after consulting the monitor.

The same courtesy was not extended to James Penrice who, after play had initially been allowed to continue, was punished for a handball from a similar distance.

Here is everything the Hearts manager said in his post-match press conference.

What were your thoughts on the performance?

"I thought it was a tight game. Listen, you're playing the best team in the country. There's moments you need to be defensively sound. I thought in the first half we were. You need to accept that at times you are going to have to sit low and frustrate them. I thought we did that.

"First half, we probably weren't as good in possession as we have been in the past here in other games.

"I don't think our penalty is a penalty in the guidelines, in terms of the distance between the players, but I also don't think there's is a penalty.

"It's down to opinion, but I think... the images we were shown before the season about distance... it's all down to distance. It hits his arm but, for me, I think there is nothing he can do. The motion is the one that was shown in pre-season. So I disagree with that.

"That's a big moment in the game. We were probably a wee bit better in possession in the second half, we believed a bit more and the crowd were getting frustrated. But when that goes in, it then changes it.

"And the second goal comes when we open the game up a bit there's a bit more space."

Are you saying if you can't give the first decision, you can't give the second?

"What the interpretation has been is that there are times the ball is going to hit someone's hand and there is nothing they can do. We need to accept that.

"I just feel thar both are in the same ball park, I don't think the distance between James [Penrice] and the ball is great enough that he can get his hand out the way.

"But, for me, there were positives. The way we defended, the attitude of the player and the discipline of the players. We do come away actually having a couple of good chances, especially in the second half when it was 1-0: Musa Drammeh has an opportunity that, if that goes in the dynamic of the game changes."

Did you get an explanation about the penalties?

"I've not even asked. I've not asked, to be honest."

Does it sum up the way things are?

"I said it during the week, I think that everything that could go wrong or any mistake that's made by us is getting punished at the moment. Simple as that.

"But I think there are positives. I think the discipline, the way we worked and the way, defensively, we understood when to press, when not to press, when you need to accept it.

"And the, like I said, the chances that we end up creating, there was a couple of good ones in there.

"That's the positives. We've now got a month of games before the international break, we need to win. But from what I've seen today, we'll start picking points up."

Do you think that fortunes will eventually turn?

"I'm not going to rely on that. I think we'll work as hard as we do all the time. I genuinely believe that, in a lot of the games this season, it has been small details, maybe an individual error or something going against us that has cost us.

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"We need to have more of a threat going forward in the games that we have more of the possession. But we've worked on that over the international break and I expect us to have that next week."

Does confidence become a problem the longer this goes on?

"Individually, there will be players involved in the instances that have lost us games, inevitably their confidence will go. But to be at a club like Hearts, you need to deal with that and accept it and work out how it is you turn it.

"With any player and any advice I give, it's not one conversation and you're the best player, playing the best football you every have. You need to have that mental toughness to work out, 'Right, I'm maybe not doing this great at the moment, but the other areas of my game, I'm going to make sure I'm on point'. And you grind through it.

"That's ultimately it. We've got a young squad, but I've seen enough positives this season to know we'll come strong. We've got good quality and, like I said, biggest area for me that we have to get better is that final third and I expect us to have that."