ST Mirren boss Oran Kearney had no problem with the reaction of centre-half Jack Baird to his early subsitution.

The young centre back was hooked after only 22 minutes of the Buddies' 2-1 defeat to Motherwell in favour of winger Kyle McAllister as the Saints boss changed tactics.

Baird shook his head as he refused to acknowledge Kearney as he stormed into the dugout.

"Football's an emotional game," Kearney said. "Would I expect him to be fully understanding coming off the pitch at that point in time with how it looks? Not at all. It was an absolutely normal human reaction.

"It was nothing to do with performance, it was purely that we had to change tact."