DEREK McInnes may have sprung a surprise when he named Ryan Jack as his Aberdeen captain, but though he is just 23, the highly-rated midfielder has featured more than 150 times for the Dons since making his debut as a callow youth five years ago.

Since Mark McGhee, the then Pittodrie manager, offered him a home debut against Rangers which they lost 3-2, Jack has established himself as a leader, sitting alongside Willo Flood or Kenny McLean or, more rarely these days, Barry Robson, as the guardians of a defence that has conceded only one league goal from open play in their seven-win run.

McInnes will endeavour to lead his side to an eighth victory against Hearts at Tynecastle today as his skipper reiterates the strength of confidence inside Pittodrie which they displayed in the 1-0 win over Hamilton last Tuesday night.

“It’s certainly been a great start to the season,” Jack said, “It was import- ant to keep the run going by beating Hamilton. We showed great character and that’s been a hallmark of our play this season. If you want to have a successful season, as we do, then even when you’re involved in scrappy games you need to make sure you come out on top, which is what we did against Hamilton.”

Last weekend’s triumph over Celtic, courtesy of a penalty conversion from Adam Rooney and a late winner by Paul Quinn, instilled belief in the growing membership of the red army that their team are capable of mounting a serious championship challenge this season.

Two wins within three days has put them in pole position in the league, five points clear of Celtic as they go for a hat-trick of successes at Tyne- castle this afternoon.

Jack, pictured, suggested there would have been a hope within Parkhead that the Reds would falter against Accies.

“We know there were a lot of people watching us against Hamilton who would have been hoping we might have slipped up and dropped points,” he said, “but we answered those critics and now we are focused on beating Hearts, which will be a tough game in front of a sell-out crowd.

“We go in to every game expecting to win because when you look at our starting XI and the people we have on the bench, it gives all the players confidence. We all believe in each other and that’s important. We have a very strong squad and we approach games with a winning mentality.” If there is a concern about Aberdeen’s play, it would centre on a failure to translate their domination of games into goals, a point partially conceded by the former Scotland Under-21 star.

“The strikers have done well for us this season,” he said, “and we have players who can try to take scoring chances and if they don’t work out, then you can see they’re still confident to keep trying in front of goal.

“It’s not too worrying, but we have to make sure that, when we are on top of teams, we can kill them off. The way our defence has started allows the rest of the side to have greater confidence. Whether you’re in midfield or up front, it’s a good feeling to know you have a solid back four behind you as well as Danny Ward, the goalkeeper, who’s doing fantastically well in keeping five clean sheets.

“Great credit to the manager that he’s brought in such high quality players; it’s such a good squad. We have that depth in case we get an injury or two or if the manager feels he needs to change things. It wouldn’t weaken the starting XI in any way.”

Jack is looking forward to the test Hearts will provide today. “Hearts started the season really well after their promotion from the Championship and they came into the Premiership with their confidence high and that’s shown in their games,” he said. “The atmosphere will be great at Tyne- castle. It’s good to see Hearts back in the top flight.”