Derek McInnes: Hearts boss says Sir Alex Ferguson is giving pointers about fighting for the Scottish title

In the stands, support for the club swelled and took on a life of its own.

A song about Portuguese striker Claudio Braga went viral on social media a few months ago.

Written by fan Callum McKenzie, inspired by a success he’d never known before.

“It’s a tune, isn’t it?” The 26-year-old says with a smile as he looks around Tynecastle. “It feels like the players are feeding off the stands and the energy.”

His song was part of that.

Set to the tune of Queen’s Radio Gaga, Mackenzie wrote it at work, recorded it in a voice note and sent it to a Hearts supporters’ Whatsapp group.

Someone put it on social media and it made its way to the stands where mobile phone footage of fans cheering it on has been viewed more than five million times.

“Fortunately, we’re in good shape and Claudio is a good player, so it’s being sung a lot more than I expected,” McKenzie adds. “If we win the league now I’ll take credit for it!”

Hearts fans allow themselves to think in these terms, albeit cautiously. McInnes, however, will not be tempted by the prospect of lifting this trophy, but appreciates they are “disrupting” Scottish football.

“We were a good story at the beginning – as if good old Hearts were competing over there, and no one really thought we could get that far,” he says.

“I think we’re starting to bother some people, which is understandable given Rangers and Celtic have had such a strong presence over the last 40 years.”

His side have two wins and a draw against Celtic in the league and two wins over Rangers, who they face at Ibrox this weekend.

Their record against the Old Firm is strong this season, but McInnes feels he cannot take his eyes off the task at hand for a moment.

“I should be enjoying it more,” he adds. “If I’m out there looking out and seeing a manager who’s been at the top of the league for about five months, I’ll be thinking about how good his life is!”