Rangers went into the break on a run of six straight victories, the latest two over Celtic in the League Cup and Premiership.
It was a much-needed revival for McInnes, who was named the Premiership manager of the month for September, and his side after a rocky start to his time at Ibrox which involved an exit from European competition.
The Rangers boss says he is under “no illusions” their good form has to continue, and also revealed he had lunch with Sir Alex Ferguson at the club’s training ground.
The former Manchester United boss was a regular visitor to Tynecastle last season as McInnes spearheaded Hearts’ unexpected title charge.
“He spent a bit of time with the staff and me, chewing the fat as he does,” McInnes explained. “He has always been really supportive, and I’m sure he is with a lot of managers.
“I’ve had a couple of conversations with him since I’ve been at the club, but to see him in person was good. Particularly after his health scare.
“He enjoyed what we were doing at Hearts and he was a regular visitor. But he understood the opportunity for me to come here was there and we spoke long and hard about that.
“He spoke about his own difficult starts at Man United, and he said it’s how you finish a campaign not how you start the campaign. Sometimes it can take time.
“He thought we were really strong on the performance at Celtic Park in particular.”