After five years of rage and ridicule, the Bairns could be forgiven for making the most of their Championship opener on a Friday night back in August.
From disco lights to fireworks, they pulled out all the stops – and did not stop there.
Kicking off the campaign with a five-game winning run – which included the fist win at Dunfermline’s East End Park in five years – they made a seamless transition back to the second tier.
Landmarks in the season – international breaks, first round of games, festive fixture – came and went with little fuss on the pitch but plenty excitement off it as the team remained at the top of the tree throughout.
That exhilaration was taken up yet another notch on 3 February when homegrown hero Scott Arfield, the former Rangers, Burnley and Canada midfielder, made a stunning return, 15 years after his exit.
“It was complete and utter Roy of the Rovers stuff,” McInally said of the academy product’s re-signing.
“There had been murmurings, then I got a couple of messages from people who know Scott saying ‘this is happening’.
“I was like, shut up, no way. Then it happened and it was such a buzz.”
With the number 37 on his back – a number that had been, and will be again – retired since the tragic passing of former team-mate Craig Gowans, Arfield marked his magical return with a hat-trick against Partick Thistle.
It proved to be the first of an eight-game unbeaten run that had the Bairns heading into the final six games with an 11-point advantage.
Get the fancy champagne looked out and the t-shirts sent to the printer. Back-to-back titles started to seem a matter of when, not if.
Such goods no doubt made the journey down to Somerset Park, where a win over Ayr United in the fourth last game of the season would all-but secure the title.
However, a 93rd-minute equaliser from Ethan Walker put the champagne on ice. No need to panic, though. Another chance would come.
It came and went in similar style against Rovers, who stunned the league leaders with three goals from the 88th-minute onwards. Veering towards the panic station.
Almost unbelievably, it happened again against 10-man Thistle the following Friday at Firhill. Terry Ablade’s incredible 97th-minute winner had the panic button being well and truly battered.
A matter of weeks ago, a final-day decider appeared impossible. Now, the Championship trophy was lingering midway Linlithgow, ready to head to Livingston, if necessary.
For a bit, that was the destination punched into the satnav. For the first time this season, Livingston topped the pile.
They were soon displaced, though, when an Ethan Ross free-kick not only sent Falkirk Stadium into a frenzy but set the Bairns on their way to something of a comfortable win.
McGlynn’s men did it the hard way, but for scenes such as those at full-time, they will tell you it was worth it.
The man with the cap delivered on his promise. Now, he says, the sky is the limit.
