Nicky Cadden admits he had Sunshine on Leith saved on his favourites playlist long before he signed for Hibs.

Ever since the 2016 Scottish Cup Final in fact when he was blown away by the sight of 20,000 Hibees blasting it out at Hampden even though he was an Airdrie player at the time. But it’s one thing watching the anthem belted out on YouTube clips or listening to it in the car - and another level altogether being front and centre as it reverberates round Easter Road on derby day. There was no wiping the smile off Cadden’s face after experiencing the Proclaimers’ hit for a second time in just eight days in the aftermath of the 2-1 win over Hearts.

Having been pleasantly surprised by the rendition that followed the win over Celtic the previous weekend, the winger was more than ready for its second airing at 2.30pm on Sunday. And the 28-year-old, who produced another wonderful assist for the winner, insists the song played it’s own huge psychological part in driving David Gray’s men on to victory.

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Cadden said: “Amazing. Another Sunshine on Leith so you can’t beat that. I've always liked it, ever since the cup final when they played it, I was like: ‘Oh what's this song?

“So I started listening to it. It would come on in the car even before I played with Hibs. I had it on my playlist. It's a really good song. Obviously when Hibs fans sing it, there's no better feeling.

“We've had two in a week, so that's incredible. It doesn't come out often and it shows how special that is. I didn't know it would be played after the Celtic win. It just came out and I was like, ‘brilliant!’

“It’s a special moment. The gaffer said that before the game as well, win and you can get another Sunshine on Leith here and it doesn't happen very often. They don't bring it out just willy-nilly. It's one of the best, if not the best songs in Scottish football.”

Keep this incredible run of form going and the Easter Road faithful might be treated to another outing or two of their favourite tune this season. Cadden revealed how a history lesson from Gray fired Hibs up to break Hearts and set a record stretching back to the days of the Famous Five.

It’s now 15 games unbeaten in all competitions and 13 in the league - the first time that’s been done since the start of season 1949-50 when their celebrated frontline of Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond were first teamed together. The chance to be mentioned alongside Hibs legends might have been unknown to Cadden and his team mates.

But it was never going to be lost on Gray who is still unbeaten in Edinburgh derbies after three clashes this season and has seen his side end a 16-year wait for back-to-back wins over their rivals. Cadden said: “The gaffer gave us that objective before the game. He had a few pointers and he put it up and said 1949 was the last time.

“It's tough to do. You've got Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Dundee United, Aberdeen. They're all good teams. Everybody's a good team and everybody can beat everybody. The fact that we've done this since early December is quite incredible.

“I don't think I've ever been on a run like this in my career. I've played with a few good teams and that just shows how good we are. It’s a massive three wins in the week. We beat Celtic, beat Dundee United and beat Hearts. They're three tough games and all of that in eight days and we've got nine points with it. It's incredible and hopefully it continues.”

If it does continue this weekend then Hibs will have hit a new high with home and away double over Celtic. The Scottish Cup quarter final doesn’t come much tougher at Parkhead though with Brendan Rodgers side zoning non a treble - and revenge for that defeat in Leith.

Cadden said: “We just need to keep going. We've got a tough task against Celtic but hopefully we can get through to the next round as well. It's a cliche but it's true - we just take every game as it comes and just try to beat the people in front of us. We prepare the way we should to feel as if we should win the game. We've been doing that and it's working.”