IT is not only the main stand at Tynecastle which has been under construction this week. In an office across the city a smile is starting to take shape on the face of Leslie Deans, his lightening mood building on the steady optimism of a football fan whose team are showing visible signs of progress. Two captivating victories in the league, against Rangers and Motherwell, and a productive transfer window have restored supporters’ trust in this Hearts side, and the coaching team which has led them into the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup. Their focus will return to that competition today, and the visit of city rivals Hibernian.

This Edinburgh derby will be a singular event this season since the two sides continue to compete in different leagues, but Deans does not expect to alter his matchday routine. It is 18 years since he stepped down from the Hearts board - on which he served as chairman between 1994 and 1999 - but he retains his seat at Tynecastle. The solicitor now pays to attend every home game and will be a face in the crowd once more today.

“I will be in my regular seat . . . sitting with a few butterflies going,” says Deans, who runs an estate agents in the capital.

The sight of construction vehicles parked around the perimeter of the stadium might also provoke a sense of anxiety as he makes his way in. Hearts have started work on the £12 million redevelopment of the Gorgie ground, with a large truss last week placed on the roof of the main stand. Heavy machinery has also made light work of the players’ entrance and staircase to the executive lounge, with owner Ann Budge expecting the whole project to be completed by September.

Deans had been faced with a far tighter deadline when he was asked to consider plans to redevelop Tynecastle almost 13 years ago; with Hearts’ finances in a state of disrepair. The club had been put in jeopardy when Scottish Media Group, which held a 20 per cent stake in Hearts, chose to recall a loan of £4.5m, an amount the club were not in a position to pay. In an effort to clear the debts, chief executive Chris Robinson courted controversy - and Cala Management - agreeing to sell Tynecastle to the property developers in a deal worth £20.5m. Hearts would have been forced to take up temporary residence at Murrayfield, as their traditional Gorgie home was turned into flats.

The sounds of construction work this week has been like an echo from the past for Deans, who opposed the Cala deal vehemently, referring to the decision to abandon Tynecastle as the “death knell” for the club. Indeed a team of builders on site at the Gorgie ground would only have been less popular with the erstwhile chairman if they had turned up whistling the tune to Sunshine on Leith.

“It was shattering,” says Deans, his sunny disposition at once obscured by the memories of Hearts’ stormy past. “We came within minutes of Tynecastle being demolished. Minutes. For Tynecastle to have been sold to become a block of flats . . . it doesn’t bear thinking about.

“When I left the board in 1999, the finances weren’t too bad at all - there was an overdraft but it was manageable. Things declined when SMG made that ill-fated financial injection and demanded it back. That led to the deal to sell Tynecastle. If Hearts had left then we would have had to become tenants to the Scottish Rugby Union, we would have lost such a wonderful stadium. I did everything I could to stop that. Myself and [then Hearts chairman] George Foulkes. We did everything we could.”

Vladimir Romanov was ushered into Tynecastle before Cala could take the keys away; Deans and Foulkes both selling their shareholdings to the Russian-born Lithuanian, who acquired Robinson’s stake to take control of the club. Retrospect has given cause to regard those deals as unwise, with the era under Romanov feeling latterly like Hearts had boarded a roller coaster which was still under construction.

The Russian’s reign ended three years ago with the club in administration, precipitating a season competing outside the top flight, but Deans’ resolve is unwavering. He refers to Romanov simply as “enigmatic” and recalls a figure whose ambitions for the club were filtered first by an interpreter. But the erstwhile Tynecastle chairman understood fully the gravity of the situation unfolding at Hearts and had no alternative offers to consider.

“It was an easy decision to sell those shares to Vladimir Romanov - without them he wouldn’t have had control, so couldn’t stop the sale of Tynecastle,” says Deans. “He needed to acquire my shares and those of Chris Robinson. Everything he said came through an interpreter but he was determined to stop the sale to the builders.

“And he was the only option - there wasn’t anyone else with the money needed who was looking to come to the club. In those early days after he took over, we had an influx of players - guys with the quality of Roman Bednar - and the team looked excellent. It is very unfortunate that his commitment to Hearts later wavered. But selling my shares to Vladimir Romanov was absolutely the right decision at that time. If I hadn’t done that then Hearts wouldn’t be where we are today.”

That is a pleasing thought for Deans. He will hope to be given another reason to smile when he takes his seat at Tynecastle this afternoon.