After the match Hughes was asked about the red card shown to Arnau Riera for an apparent elbow of Saints midfielder Andy Dorman.

Hughes said: "It certainly had an impact on it (the game) but I don't think it was a sending off. It was disappointing but I'm not going to have a go at the referee or anything like that to get him into trouble.

He added: "But I'll have a go at the system, your Donald McVicar's and all these guys that put the referees out. I keep saying this, we're in a league of 12 and we've worked hard to get into a league of 12 and we've got the same rights as everybody else, so you tell me why we're getting lumbered with rookie referees, week in, week out.

"That's nothing against his display today, because I'm not going to touch on that. It's the system, are we getting used as a learning tool for these guys. Yes, they've got to learn but that guy's had five games all season and he's been thrown in the deep end today and he's done okay. I think he got one or two decisions wrong, especially with the sending off but it's not that.

"It's the system, it's your Donald McVicar's and your Hugh Dallas' these guys and they're basically taking the p**s."

He continued: "Do we not fly under the same banner as everybody else in The SPL? What I'm saying is, 'Are we being used as a learning tool?'

"If he's good enough to referee in The SPL, he should be good enough to referee anybody in The SPL, that's what I'm saying."