After five years of rage and ridicule, the Bairns could be forgiven for making the most of their Championship opener on a Friday night back in August.

From disco lights to fireworks, they pulled out all the stops – and did not stop there.

Kicking off the campaign with a five-game winning run – which included the fist win at Dunfermline’s East End Park in five years – they made a seamless transition back to the second tier.

Landmarks in the season – international breaks, first round of games, festive fixture – came and went with little fuss on the pitch but plenty excitement off it as the team remained at the top of the tree throughout.

That exhilaration was taken up yet another notch on 3 February when homegrown hero Scott Arfield, the former Rangers, Burnley and Canada midfielder, made a stunning return, 15 years after his exit.

“It was complete and utter Roy of the Rovers stuff,” McInally said of the academy product’s re-signing.

“There had been murmurings, then I got a couple of messages from people who know Scott saying ‘this is happening’.

“I was like, shut up, no way. Then it happened and it was such a buzz.”

With the number 37 on his back – a number that had been, and will be again – retired since the tragic passing of former team-mate Craig Gowans, Arfield marked his magical return with a hat-trick against Partick Thistle.

It proved to be the first of an eight-game unbeaten run that had the Bairns heading into the final six games with an 11-point advantage.

Get the fancy champagne looked out and the t-shirts sent to the printer. Back-to-back titles started to seem a matter of when, not if.