King of Hearts: From late goals and jigs with the ball boy to declarations of intent under the all-seeing eye of Tony Bloom, Tynecastle boss Derek McInnes has never seemed more up for a title fight than he is now

No matter how this gripping Premiership season unfolds, the money shot for the television producers is probably already in the can.

When Tomas Magnusson netted what proved to be the winner late in Tuesday’s Edinburgh derby, Derek McInnes’ jig of delight with a boy ball on the touchline immediately entered Tynecastle folklore.

The Hearts managed later joked that the boy’s parents might soon have him tasered. He needn’t worry.

In what’s proving to be the season of supporters’ dreams, McInnes’ side have been nothing short of electric.

If they can come through their trip to Ibrox unscathed, the wider game had better start preparing itself for the greatest shock in living memory.

Much of Hearts’ success to this point has stemmed from the so far joyous union with Tony Bloom’s Jamestown Analytics company.

Tomas Magnusson’s goal against Hibs may prove crucial in deciding where the title ends up

Tony Bloom has big ambitions for Hearts but couldn’t have expected success to come so soon

The professional gambler, who has invested close to £10million in the club, was present again in midweek as the league leaders plunged another dagger into Hibs’ heart with a late goal for the second time in Gorgie this season.

Magnusson, who was signed from Valur for a nominal five figure fee, is now being mentioned in the same breath as Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyzeridis as exemplars of what Jamestown can offer.

Yet Hearts’ form still owes a great deal to many individuals who predate Bloom entering the equation – Frankie Kent, Harry Milne, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley. Prior to untimely injuries, no individuals played bigger parts than Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland.

It’s been the manager’s willingness to embrace Jamestown and fuse it with those he inherited that’s put the side in such an enviable position with just a dozen games remaining.

McInnes always was so much more than a safe pair of hands. But even his most fervent backer among the Gorgie support when he arrived from Kilmarnock last summer surely could not have envisioned this.

Whether he knows it or not, the 54-year-old has also changed in his approach and both he and the club who now employ him are the better for it.

It’s easy to forget that 10 years ago, his Aberdeen side were involved in a bona fide title fight with a Celtic team which was struggling in the latter days of Ronny Deila.

The Dons beat Celtic at Pittodrie in the February and defeated Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock in successive matches the following month.

Summer signings Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga have taken the league by storm

With Deila’s men drawing against Dundee and Hamilton, at one stage, the gap was down to a single point (albeit Celtic had a game in hand).

With eight games to go, the Dons were well in contention. It’s just that you’d never have known it.

Despite having players of the quality of Barry Robson and Adam Rooney, not a syllable which passed the lips of anyone on the Pittodrie staff at the time acknowledged that they could win the title.

Maybe no one felt they could. Perhaps they didn’t want to get left with egg on their faces.

In any event, this ultra-cautious approach did them no favours. In what felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy, McInnes’ side won only one of the last six games with Celtic ultimately claiming the big prize by a 15-point margin.

You could be forgiven for believing that McInnes looks back on that episode with some regret. Maybe some bolder talk would have been manifest in a different outcome.

A decade on, the contrast with the positive noises presently coming out of Tynecastle is marked.

While neither the manager or his players are claiming that Hearts will win the title for the first time since 1960, no one is talking their chances down.

McInnes ran Celtic close in the 2015-16 season whilst at Aberdeen before falling away

Asked on Tuesday if the derby win could give them more belief, McInnes stated without hesitation: ‘My players are way past that. We’ve been well convinced for a while that we’ve got a chance. We feel we can win games.

‘It would be foolish to think that with 12 games to go, we’ve not got a chance.’

Given how high his emotions were running, the interview was pitch perfect.

Acutely aware that Magnusson’s goal would have done down like a lead balloon in the west, McInnes heaped more pressure on Celtic and Rangers by claiming that not winning the league would be ‘an absolute disaster for them’ while adding ‘we’re just enjoying what we’re doing’.

And what’s not to like? With 26 games played, Hearts have suffered just three defeats.

All of these have come on the road. None have sparked a crisis in confidence with a draw at Motherwell and home wins over Livingston and Hibs arriving in the following matches.

While the men in maroon have already beaten Celtic and Rangers home and away this season, Tuesday’s win felt like the most significant triumph to date.

With a raft of injuries and Halkett suspended, they didn’t play particularly well yet produced one moment of quality which changed everything.

Defender Stuart Findlay netted against Rangers in December’s 2-1 victory at Tynecastle

It was the kind of scarcely deserved, dogged win which have been commonplace to fans of Celtic and Rangers down the years. Little wonder McInnes milked the moment for all it was worth.

These game-defining moments are stacking up; Stuart Findlay’s late winner at Tannadice. Kyziridis netting late at Almondvale to secure a 2-1 victory. Halkett’s goal in the first derby of the season.

Hearts have scored 12 goals in the last 15 minutes of league matches this season. Only Rangers have scored more.

When you throw in Craig Gordon’s ridiculous save away to Dundee to keep out Emile Acquah’s net-bound header, there’s a growing bundle of big moments to suggest that this is finally Hearts’ year.

While the impending returns of Shankland and Devlin will aid them no end, McInnes could live without further injuries and suspensions hitting the side hard.

For all three red cards in five league matches presented a distorted picture of the side’s discipline (they are actually mid-table in the crime count) the manager would have been pleased that narrative has been cut short.

Even in the thud and blunder of a derby which was low on quality, his side didn’t pick up a single caution. Such things may prove telling further down the line.

Rangers, assuredly, are in a better place than when Hearts won there in September when Russell Martin was in charge.

Danny Rohl knows his Rangers side can’t afford to lost more ground to Hearts this weekend

Danny Rohl’s brought organisation, structure and better players to Ibrox. Rangers are still involved in a title race which seemed a lost cause four months ago.

But off the back of a disappointing draw against 10-man Motherwell, there’s immense pressure on Rohl’s men to win and cut the gap to two points.

With games running out, a defeat for Rangers is now bordering on the unthinkable. 

While Hearts wouldn’t yet be out of sight, the German would need to roll a double six to catch them.