After admitting he felt “guilt” over his summer exit to Rangers after taking Hearts to within minutes of the title, McInnes accepted he was in for a tasty return.
“It was exactly what I thought it would be,” he said of his reception. “It’s football, it’s Scottish football.”
The 55-year-old still hopes “history can be kind” regarding his relationship with Hearts fans after a brief but memorable tenure in Gorgie.
His immediate concern, however, will be addressing the faults of a disjointed display as Saturday’s League Cup semi-final with former club Aberdeen looms.
McInnes said his side were fortunate to go into the break ahead after Kevin Kelsy’s opener came from slack Hearts play and lamented a lack of control in a “very topsy-turvy game”.
“We scored a brilliant goal but didn’t do that enough,” the Rangers manager added.
“I don’t think any team really grabbed the game and controlled the game, but I think Hearts had more opportunities to play in our half.
“When we did get a chance to transition on them, we never quite looked after the ball well enough.
“The top end of my side, they’re very young and sometimes they need to come through these types of games and atmospheres, but we have to say we didn’t play to our level.”