Blair Spittal put in his best Heart of Midlothian performance so far in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Aberdeen.

That’s even aside from his spectacular strike that gave Hearts a second-half lead at Pittodrie. His first goal for the club.

Spittal has started the last two matches as one of interim manager Liam Fox’s No.8s. There he has had more licence to join the attack.

In Thursday’s win over Dinamo Minsk, he came to life once fresh legs were brought on around him and played a vital role in Hearts’ first win of the season.

He continued that into Sunday’s spirited but ultimately disappointing loss that leaves managerless Hearts winless in the Scottish Premiership going into the second international break.

Spittal spoke about his goal, the frustration of the latest defeat and how his role has changed under Fox.

How do you sum that up, frustration?

"I think so, given the performance level we put in. Obviously the red card changes things in terms of putting in a different type of performance, but I think everyone could see up until that point the way we were playing, the performance level was definitely there. We caused Aberdeen problems. Going 1-0 behind, it would have been easy for us to go under given the position we are in, but I thought we reacted really well and that's something we need to hold on to.”

Is there a mental Achilles heel, not seeing the game out?

"I don't know. Everyone can see our frustrations at the second goal. I've not seen it back but these things happen. After we go 2-1 ahead, we still caused Aberdeen problems. I think if we ride that storm for another five-to-10 minutes then the game is totally different. It's hard to take.”

Can you take positives from the last two games?

"Over the last week, there's been three different types of performances. Last Saturday we went to the end to get the point, although we wanted three. Thursday night was a good feeling, and I think given the effort levels we put it on Thursday night, and how well Aberdeen are playing, I thought for large spells we were the better team. At this moment in time we don't get anything for that, which is disappointing.”

Personally, is it your best performance since moving?

"Coming into a new club, I said at the time that I wanted to establish myself in a good team. It was going to take a bit of time to adjust. I've felt myself being in or out but hopefully that was a sign of things to come. It felt good the last couple of games doing what Foxy has asked of me. The last couple of games have been really enjoyable working with him. We'll see what happens during the break. I think everyone knows there's going to be a new manager in, so it's important in this situation that we give food for thought for whoever that's going to be.”

Has your role changed under the interim manager?

"Just in terms of the ideas he's brought in, him and Waldo [Lee Wallace] and Angus [Beith]. Fresh ideas. It's obviously unfortunate the way things worked out for the old manager, but Foxy's simplified a lot of things that needed to be worked on. I think we looked more like a team today and on Thursday. I think you could see that in terms of chances created. We caused Aberdeen a lot of problems.”

You hadn’t had as many opportunities to be in a position to score goals

"I found myself earlier in the season playing a lot of deeper. Playing in the higher, sort of No.8 position gives me licence to connect with the players higher up the park. It was something that we spoke about before the game, the way Aberdeen defended corners. The ball worked its way out to the edge of the box and we get shots away – luckily it's went in.”

Can the gap to Aberdeen be bridged?

"I think it's easy to say aye or no, but most importantly I think we need to start winning games. We need to put that [the gap] to the back of our minds. There's not a lot in this league. Once you get a run of wins together, it's easy to see you climbing the league. A few teams have managed to do that. We know that we've got the quality in the squad that if we put a run together ... but we need to start somewhere.”

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Is the team in a better place than two weeks ago?

"It's easy to be glorious in defeat, but the performance level was there in large spells. Thursday demanded a lot more from us, probably tactically and from a defensive point of view, but I thought against Aberdeen both parts of the game were really good up until the red card. Then after that period, the way Aberdeen are playing now, it's hard and we invited the pressure on – we deepened ourselves off instead of taking that step forward. It's something we need to work on as a team.”

No qualms if Craig Gordon is selected for Scotland?

"I think over the last period that Craigy has been in, I think everyone can see his qualities and experience. I'm sure if he's called upon in the next couple of Scotland games, he'll show everyone what he can do. He's got the full backing of the squad that he can go out there and perform.”