As their season has morphed from one of promise into something now spectacular and surreal, Hearts supporters have looked around for context. Before Monday's game with Rangers, one conversation sought to establish the significance of the match among the litany of those which Tynecastle has hosted. By common consent, its importance outweighed that of the victory over Aberdeen in 2006 which secured second place. In terms of an occasion, only those old enough to remember the win over Bayern Munich in 1989 had known anything like it.
All bets are off now. If Derek McInnes' side hold their nerve at Fir Park and Celtic fail to beat Rangers, Wednesday's game with Falkirk will be the biggest occasion in Gorgie since April 5, 1960, when Tommy Walker's side beat Clyde 5-2 prior to clinching the title with a 4-4 draw at Love Street. How would you quantify the achievement of the manager if it comes to pass? There may not be adequate words.
But a flick through the history books may offer some understanding of the scale of the feat we may soon witness. Derek McInnes has taken Hearts to within three wins of a first top-flight title since 1960. The last manager from out with the Old Firm to win the title was plain old Alex Ferguson back in 1985 with Aberdeen. Two years before that, Jim McLean produced a miracle with Dundee United. That McInnes now stands on the brink of joining the list of Scottish managerial greats is simply unarguable.
All roads have led him to this point. As a young player at Morton, he listened intently to the words of Allan McGraw — a figure he saw more as a father who he 'never wanted to let down'. A seasoned pro at Rangers, he watched and learned from the great Walter Smith — 'the gaffer' — who was then to become his first point of contact before making major career decisions. Captain of West Brom under the sage Gary Megson, he led the Baggies to promotion to the Premier League, thriving through responsibility, soaking it all up like a sponge. He was always a manager in waiting. It was only a matter of where and when.
It arrived at McDiarmid Park in November 2007. It's often overlooked that while Owen Coyle laid the foundations for St Johnstone's first Scottish Cup win in 2014, it was McInnes who took them back to the big time in 2009 after a seven-year absence by lifting the championship. Under him, the Perth men finished in eighth spot in the top flight twice, thus prompting interest from Bristol City. McInnes succeeded in keeping the English club in the Championship at the first time of asking but was sacked the following January with them propping up the table.
He remained a man in demand. Aberdeen soon came calling. By any measure, his eight years at Pittodrie were a resounding success. The Dons won the League Cup in 2014 — their first trophy in 18 years. They finished runners-up in the league four times, including two occasions after Rangers had won promotion. There would assuredly have been more silverware in that time had Aberdeen not faced a Celtic side resurgent and dominant under Brendan Rodgers. But some notable European scalps were also taken — Groningen, Rijeka and Viking — among them. McInnes made the Red Army walk tall again.
With such an impressive body of work, he was constantly linked with a move back to Rangers where he'd been part of the side which clinched nine-in-a-row in the 90s. After sacking Pedro Caixinha in 2017, the Ibrox club made their move in the expectation that the boyhood Rangers supporter would drop everything and come running. They assumed incorrectly. McInnes valued his relationship with then chairman Stewart Milne more than Rangers ever knew. He was concerned that Rangers was too dysfunctional and, to the chagrin of chairman Dave King, stayed put. 'I've had a lot to consider over the past couple of days,' he said at the time. 'I appreciate that it's been a testing time for everyone including my family and I'm pleased to be now focusing on on-the-field matters.' The Ibrox club were furious at the perceived snub with an infamous statement claiming the move to Glasgow would have come with a 'concomitant' risk. McInnes has the last laugh, though, going on to edge out his former club for second spot behind Celtic for the second time.
If there was a sense that things had gone stale when new chairman Dave Cormack instigated a change in March 2021, the appointment of Stephen Glass quickly had Aberdeen supporters remembering that it's always prudent to be careful what you wish for. Some eyebrows were raised when McInnes took the reins at Rugby Park the following January. But he agreed to lead Kilmarnock, then stuck in the Championship, not because of what they were but because of what he knew they could be. His impact was immediate with the Ayrshire club sealing what was once an unlikely title win by easing out Arbroath. McInnes consolidated Killie's Premiership position then took them back into Europe by finishing fourth then dropped to ninth. He'd taken them as far as they could go.
Despite coming to the scene with a fresh set of eyes a year back, Rangers' American owners didn't appear to even consider speaking to him when contemplating their first managerial appointment. The cases of Russell Martin, Davide Ancelotti and Steven Gerrard were all weighed up with the smooth-talking former Ibrox centre-half winning the day. That was to end in tears. Hearts didn't need the help of Tony Bloom's Jamestown Analytics to know that the identikit of their next manager was right under their nose. McInnes had shown himself to be a manager of substance at three opposing Scottish clubs. There was no logical reason to believe he wouldn't also succeed in Gorgie.
The key to happiness has been the 54-year-old's willingness to embrace the best that Jamestown can offer and the club respecting his right to manage the football department as he sees fit. Much has rightly been made of the impact of Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis, the two star turns who arrived from relative obscurity after the data flagged up their potential. But it's been Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay who've been the linchpins of the all-conquering side's central defence. On Monday against Rangers, it was Stephen Kingsley — a Hearts player since 2020 — who poked home the equalising goal and refused to give up on the ball which led to the winner. Lawrence Shankland, the talisman who scored it, was not short of more lucrative offers last summer until McInnes persuaded him to stay.
Jamestown has certainly been a factor in Hearts' remarkable season to date. But it owes much more to McInnes' emotional intelligence, his tactical acumen and keen eye for a player. If they get there in the coming days, this will be his title. A place in the pantheon awaits.
