Aberdeen midfielder Jonny Hayes was completely oblivious that both of his side’s nearest challengers dropped points on Sunday afternoon.
Osman Sow’s 90th minute free kick earned Hearts a point in a fiercely-contested 2-2 draw with leaders Celtic at Tynecastle.
The late leveller was a welcome boost for Aberdeen, leaving Celtic only a point ahead at the top of the Scottish Premiership instead of three.
But Hayes, whose Reds take on Partick Thistle at Pittodrie tonight, said: “I didn’t even know the Celtic score on Sunday until a mate sent a text to me saying ‘great finish, that’s a good result’.
“I went into town with my missus and then I was out walking my dogs and didn’t even know the game was on if I’m being honest.
“You look at the league table the next day and realise we could have gone top had we beaten Inverness but we can’t do anything about it now, so there’s no point in kicking ourselves.
“The Inverness game is done and dusted now and we focus on Partick Thistle. I shut off everything football-related as soon as I’m away from the stadium.”
While most professional footballers are consumed by the sport, Hayes would rather spend time with his family or walk his dogs than watch a live match on television.
He said: “I don’t watch Match of the Day or anything like that. I don’t even have Sky Sports at home to watch the matches.
“I just find out what happened the next day when I listen to the likes of Willo Flood, who loves his football talking about the games.
“I’m one of a minority but it doesn’t interest me to sit at home watching football all day. I don’t mind a bit of golf or horse racing but I’m quite happy just to switch off.
“We do our work on the training ground and are there long enough to do whatever the manager needs from us but when I’m away I don’t take any notice of any other results or even look at the league table.
“That approach helps me focus on Aberdeen just now.
“The last live match I watched was our match against Hearts but apart from that I couldn’t tell you. I don’t even watch Republic of Ireland – it’s quite boring.”
Hayes says the only time he watches football is when team-mate Niall McGinn comes round and forces him to watch a game.
He added: “Niall comes round once or twice a week and insists on watching football.
“He brings his log in for BT Sport and plugs his laptop into the TV. He put a game on the other night but I can’t even remember who it was because I was looking after a one-year-old running around.
“The only time football is on in my house is when Niall is in.”