Steven Whittaker has laughed off an old rumour that he has a Hearts tattoo.
The former Hibs star was the subject of an urban myth that claimed he'd been concealing his love for the Jambos all throughout his career at Easter Road.
But the 37-year-old has taken his chance to set the record straight.
And he's revealed that, in fact, he doesn't have any tattoos at all, never mind a Hearts one.
Whittaker told The Scotsman: “Apparently I have a Hearts tattoo. The story goes that they were my team as a boy but then I signed for Hibs and so had to keep it hidden all these years. I’ve been told that many times...
“I’m one of the few footballers who doesn’t have any tattoos.”
Whittaker was part of the last Scotland side to beat Croatia - the nation's Euro 2020 foes this coming Tuesday as they seek to qualify for the knockout stages.
The right-back was deployed as an emergency centre-half in 2013, on a night when Robert Snodgrass backed the winner in a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb.
Whittaker said: “Yes, well, that was a bit of a disaster: the game where Gary Caldwell was sent off, his brother Steven had to be substituted in case of a second yellow and Christophe Berra got injured so I was chucked on as the emergency centre-back. Despite that, and despite the result, nothing could detract from the fact that there I was, one of the 11 guys - ten guys - out on the park chosen to represent Scotland.”
