Stuart Findlay admits Hearts were battling nerves before being hit by a late Kilmarnock “sucker punch” to extend their winless run to four games.

Hearts are now level on points with Celtic at the top of the Premiership after a fourth draw in six matches.

Derek McInnes’ side led through Lawrence Shankland’s early second-half strike at Tynecastle, only for Bruce Anderson to rescue a point for struggling Killie in the final minute following an uncharacteristic error from goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow.

“It was a very frustrating end to the game,” defender Findlay said.

“We had a lot of control in the first half and started the second half on the same foot but maybe got a bit nervy in the last 20 minutes.

“It’s a frustrating game to lose and definitely feels like two points dropped.

“As long as the game’s at 1-0 it’s always going to be a dangerous scoreline, you always know there could be a sucker punch round the corner.

“We had a couple of frights before [the goal] and when you see Bruce Anderson falling on to shots it’s a horrible feeling. It’s done now, we just need to look forward to a big game on Sunday.”

McInnes’ men travel to Celtic Park on Sunday for a massive top-of-the-table clash and Findlay insists Hearts are “still in a very strong position”.

“When you set the bar as high as we did, it’s been a magnificent run, any drop in form is going to be noticeable,” Findlay added.

“We just need to look at the league table and know we’re still in a very good position. 99 out of 100 people would have taken this position at the start of the season.

“That doesn’t cover the fact we need to get back to winning ways but if we regroup quickly we’re still in a very strong position.”