Exclusive:Hearts player's secret underwear bearing a team-mate's face inspired the win against Hibs

While Hearts attempt to metaphorically pull down the pants of other clubs by winning the Scottish Premiership against all pre-season odds, actual underwear is having a somewhat surprising influence on their progress. One specially-made garment was worn secretly at Easter Road on Sunday. It was intended simply to provide a laugh and lighten the mood during this highly-charged title challenge, but by full-time it was labelled a lucky charm.

Blair Spittal struck an 86th-minute winner for the visitors after a struggle to break down nine-man Hibs. Spittal climbed off the substitutes’ bench on 58 minutes to take up an unusual right-back position and finished the day as Hearts’ derby hero. As he arrived for media duties with adrenaline still coursing through his body, he was embraced by head coach Derek McInnes. “That was the pants!” exclaimed McInnes, referencing said underwear.

Spittal explained the story in an exclusive Edinburgh News interview. “I don't want to go into too much detail,” smirked the midfielder. "There was a wee surprise in the changing room to lighten the mood before the game. I might have been handed a pair of pants - a pair of lucky pants - and they managed to work wonders in the end. It wasn't completely my idea but it was a good laugh. You go to Easter Road and you know it's an intense atmosphere. Folk will tell you I try to lighten the mood as much as I can by making a joke or two when the time is right. The pants didn't belong to anyone. They might have had a picture of somebody in the changing room on them. It took that player by surprise, put it that way.”

He is reluctant to divulge the name of the player in question and sniggers like a schoolboy at the silliness of the episode. It is exactly this type of camaraderie which is driving Hearts to new heights this season. The squad are united, motivated and eager to work and laugh together. Sitting three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, no-one can argue that their methods aren’t working.

Sunday’s victory was crucial, particularly with Rangers losing to Motherwell earlier in the day. For Spittal, lashing Sabah Kerjota’s low pass into the back of Hibs’ net was a career highlight. It was also a reward for his own patience. He has been in and out of the Hearts team this term, starting some games, playing as a substitute in others, and sitting as an unused sub in some as well. His attitude never wavered and it seems fitting that he gets something back for his professionalism.

“It's up to other people to decide. Sunday was probably the best feeling I've had in football, just in that moment, but it's your job,” says the 30-year-old, philosophically. “You need to make sure you're ready for when the opportunity comes. Obviously I would like to have played more, but you can't complain when the boys who are playing are putting in the performances they have over the season. When you get the opportunity, you try to take it. You make sure you are training hard to be ready for when that chance comes.

“Hibs are down to 10 men and it just happened that the ball fell to me in the right place. I back myself in that position. Making sure I hit the target was the important bit and I got a good contact on it. Sabah did unbelievably well. What a feeling seeing it hit the back of the net.”

His celebration run seemed to last forever as he sprinted off behind the goal in front of the ecstatic Hearts support. “It felt that way,” laughs Spittal. “It was one of those ones where you don't know what to do. I knew where my family were sitting so you're looking up straight away to see them. I was looking to see if my Dad was alright in the crowd with his blood pressure. It was a great moment. Only time will tell how big it is.”

His instructions were to attack down the right without leaving Hearts exposed. “I was told not to play too high or too deep, just find a position to make sure I was receiving the ball from Craig Halkett, Marc Leonard and Beni Baningime. I was to make it hard for Hibs midfielders to track across like they wanted to. I was to allow Sabah to get on the ball on the last line. He got himself in so many one-against-one situations and that's what he specialises in.

“The manager said to me to get round him and help him with overlaps, but when he is playing like that then it's just a case of leaving him to it and trying to support him from deep. There were a couple of moments when I was a wee bit wasteful in terms of my final ball and crosses, but we managed to get the three points.”

So, is this now the solution to Hearts’ perennial right-back problem? “I'm not sure about that,” chuckles Spittal. “Once Hibs went down to 10 men it forces your hand. We managed to get as many attacking players on the pitch as we could and that told in the end. The game became random and it wasn't too much about tactics. We managed to get a massive three points.”