Tomas Magnusson fear as Hearts set out their stall to deal with all the noise

Defiant focus must take hold of Hearts over the next few weeks if they are to be crowned champions of Scotland. Ensuring players stay ‘in the zone’ regardless of external hysteria is perhaps the biggest priority for head coach Derek McInnes. He knows what it takes to win the title having achieved that accolade as a Rangers player back in 1997. Steering Hearts to such a rare success as manager is a very different challenge, though.

The Edinburgh club sit one point clear of Rangers at the top of the William Hill Premiership with six games remaining. Motherwell visit Tynecastle Park this Saturday before a two-week break in fixtures. Then the post-split games against the other top-six teams begin. For Hearts, that starts with city rivals Hibs across the city at Easter Road. Tension is rising but Hearts have responded to various challenges and kept their heads so far. A first top-flight title since 1960 would be the reward if they continue doing so.

“I think every title win is tough, whether it's a promotion win or a title win. I think it's never been straightforward,” said McInnes. “I've had it at Morton, I've had it at St Johnstone, I've had it at Kilmarnock as a manager, I've had it at Rangers, albeit part of a squad who probably had the best players and felt that if they just reached their level that they would win games. The Rangers teams I was involved with were the teams that spent the most money and most was expected of them. Normally, they would answer up.

“It's a different set of circumstances now. I think any title win, any promotion, is tough. It's not straightforward, regardless of what you've got to play with. For me, it's just about trusting yourself, believing in what you're doing and trying to get the players to perform at their best at this stage. It's just trying to keep it clear and clean that way and trust players to focus on the job at hand. Once you get into this sort of environment in a training facility or in a stadium, whenever the games are being played, it's to focus on the performance and their jobs: Keeping clean sheets, showing an attacking threat, and everything else is just secondary.

“All the periphery stuff is just noise. I think it's just good to be, as I say, part of the excitement, part of the drama. Because there are three teams rather than two teams this season, there is more chat about it and for me that's understandable. It's good that we're part of it. I get asked all the time about this comment, this person saying this and all that. I actually couldn't care less. I'm just trying to find the form that we showed at the start of the season in particular. If we can get that, then I think we can win the league. It's that that's helping us. It's really concentrating my time at the minute.”

McInnes expects a final-day shootout on 16 May and is convinced his players can prevail to earn their place in Scottish football history. Only once this season have the Premiership’s top three clubs - currently Hearts, Rangers and Celtic - won on the same weekend. “I think that's probably why it will go to the last game of the season,” he said.

“I've said a couple of weeks ago that we want to be the team that really catches fire, as we did at the start of the season. It's difficult to maintain those levels, particularly for clubs like ourselves, but we can do it. We can. I keep banging on to the players, I genuinely believe that we can be that team. Our record against top-six teams is hands down miles better than anybody else. There's some sort of weight behind the confidence and belief that I want the players to show.”

Dealing with the emotional rollercoaster over the coming weeks will test every player involved at all three clubs. Those who handle the fluctuating reactions may have the best chance of success. “Possibly. Everybody was saying the same thing: ‘You win your six games, you win the league,’” McInnes pointed out. “Celtic have won five in a row, I don't know how many Rangers have won in a row, but it's trying to find your best form at the most important time. It's running that race and being as strong as you possibly can be.

“We are looking at trying to be as strong as we can as a squad in terms of availability. That would certainly help matters. Getting Lawrence [Shankland] back is massive for us. I think we've seen that in his performance at the weekend. I think for us, just trying to be as strong as we can over the next few weeks. Dealing with the fallout from not winning games, just staying really steely with that and keeping everything in-house.”

Shankland and Cammy Devlin regaining fitness helps Hearts considerably. They are two of the most influential figures at Tynecastle and are both performing at a high level this term. With defender Stuart Findlay also fit again, and Harry Milne on the way back, Hearts are getting stronger. “I think so. Every game is different. You could get an injury in training - touch wood we don't - but all these things are quite changeable,” said McInnes.

“We've not had the ability to pick the same team regularly. The back four is changing all the time of late. I don't think that's particularly helpful. A season throws that up at you. You've got to try and deal with it the best you can. I think there was a lot of consistency and a lot of benefit at the start of the campaign. We would like the consistency of selection. We'd like the consistency of performance. I also hope the results have a better chance of coming with that.

“I do think that any team who drops points between now and the end of the season, whether it's us, Rangers or Celtic, there is going to be that fallout from supporters and all the rest of it. It's getting to that stage where everybody understands that we're that close, but we've got to keep reinforcing to the players that you've done brilliant to this point. Get us into the position, it's just about finishing the job off now. We're not going to come all this way now and just be happy to get pats on the back for finishing second or third. We want to see the job through.”

After facing Motherwell, Hearts will spend next week at La Manga in Spain doing some warm-weather training before the post-split fixtures. “We tried to get away a few weeks back [to Dubai]. Again, it was just to reset,” explained McInnes. “I think there are more benefits than negatives to going away for a training camp. It's just for the players to be around each other, similar to a pre-season camp where they just need to look after themselves.

“It's not dealing with family issues or dealing with other stuff, it’s just trying to be really single-minded. I think you weigh it up. You take them out of their natural environment for that period of time, but the fact of the matter is we come back on Friday. We've still got ten days before we play Hibs at Easter Road. You're still having your normal training week and build-up week here at Oriam.

“I actually think there are a lot of benefit to getting away and just being in and around each other. Have those individual conversations, those individual meetings, time on the training pitch in a nice environment. Even the other day, we were still running about at 100 miles an hour just to keep warm [in cold weather]. Everything will be a wee bit more at our pace and a wee bit more good conversation. We want to make it as productive as we can be when we go away. I think there are loads of benefits from it.”

While Hearts are hopeful defender Harry Milne will be fit and firing on all cylinders after the split, midfielder Tomas Magnusson is struggling. He is due to get an injection to help a thigh injury which threatens to end his season prematurely. “I didn't want to dwell on bad news last week. It's not looking good for him,” admitted McInnes. “He's going to get an injection on Friday just to see how it is. The scan doesn't look great. The likelihood is he could miss the season, then that will be the headline. I don't really want it to be. There's a chance he might not be able to play again this season.

“Harry is running again. We'll see how he is on the back of those sessions with the physios. He's going to be a bit chirpier as well, which is good. Whether he can be ready for Saturday remains to be seen.”