Robbie Neilson has defended his derby record as Hearts boss in the wake of criticism from fans following their Scottish Cup exit to Hibernian.

Jason Cummings scored the only goal of the game at Easter Road to send the Tynecastle men out of the competition, leaving Neilson with one win and three draws from six Edinburgh derby clashes.

Having guided the Jam Tarts to the Scottish Championship title last term, Neilson has the club sitting third during their first season back in the top flight.

And while understanding frustration from supporters, the coach believes some perspective is required when examining how his team have performed over the past 18 months.

Asked if he was concerned by his record against Hibernian, Neilson told STV: "Not at all, it’s football with small margins in games.

"We had two chalked off for offside the other night and had a couple of chances that we could and should have scored so that’s part of football.

"You have to accept the highs and lows, the wins with the losses and you have to move on and try and progress. We’ve done very well this season to be sitting in third position quite comfortably and now we have to try and push for second.

"It’s understandable you get criticism in football, it’s very polar whether you win or you lose. It doesn't matter how you win or you lose, that’s what it is about. You have to accept that as staff or a player and we do that.

"We have to try and progress all the time and we've progressed very well this season from getting promoted from the Championship. The derbies are always difficult to take, the players understand that but you just have to focus on the next game."