Barrie McKay is relishing having Hearts fans’ backing after experiencing the full force of the “hostile” Tynecastle fanbase in his previous visits as an opposing player.

The 26-year-old winger has played at the Gorgie ground four times and has lost on each occasion, twice with Raith Rovers in 2014/15 and twice with Rangers in 2016/17.

After signing for Hearts this week, he is looking forward to having the backing of the raucous Jambos faithful, starting with Sunday’s Edinburgh derby against Hibernian when he could make his debut.

He said: “My memories of playing at Tynecastle are that it’s hostile. I think if you asked most players the one stadium they loved playing at but didn’t like playing at at the same time, they’d say Tynecastle.

“The fans are right on top of you and if you’re on the opposition team they’re right against you and it can be tough, especially if Hearts get a goal. When the Hearts fans get up behind their team, it’s hard for the opposition to play against.

“As a visiting player, you try and build some momentum but the fans here don’t really let you do that because as soon as Hearts get the ball back, the fans are right up again and it can kill your momentum.

“You can see that they really push the team on. I’ll thrive on that because I’m a player that wants to get fans off their seat. I want to excite them and hopefully I can do that.”

McKay has scored for Rangers in a Glasgow derby before and is excited by the possibility of making his Hearts debut against their city rivals.

He said: “I’ve played in derbies before and when you watch the Edinburgh derby you can see it’s feisty.

“I’m from Scotland so I understand all the derbies up here and it’s one I’m looking forward to. I’m fit and ready to go so it’s up to the manager whether he picks me or not. It’s one of the best games I could come into.”