Second chance for Whittaker

Steven Whittaker has been handed a second chance by Scotland and he is desperate to make it count.

The right-back, who has 31 caps to his name, has his summer move north to Hibs from Norwich City to thank for his recall to the squad for the games against Lithuania and Malta.

He may have given a penalty away against Dundee on Sunday in front of watching national coach Gordon Strachan – chopping down Roarie Deacon after just nine minutes at Dens – but you imagine that won’t be held against him in Vilnius on Friday.

Whittaker said: “My last game was the friendly against Denmark (at Hampden in March 2016) which was just before the birth of my daughter Ebony-Rose.

“So I have been out of the squad for around 18 months – it’s been a while. I fell out of favour at Norwich City and wasn’t playing a lot of games.

“Now I have moved back up the road and I am enjoying playing every week for Hibs again, I have to say I am delighted to get back in the Scotland squad.

“That wasn’t in my thinking when I made the move to Hibs.

“As I had been out of the international picture for a year and a half, I just wanted to get back playing at club level.

“I have a three-year deal at Hibs and I just want to enjoy the last few years of my career.

“That was my main focus but if I was playing again then Scotland was at the back of my mind.”

“Of course, it does enter your head that you have maybe won the last of your caps but all I could do was get back up the road and get playing again,” said Whittaker.

“I even watched the England game just as a fan in the house with my son Hayden. Like the whole country, when Griff’s (Leigh Griffiths) second goal went in I was absolutely buzzing.

“At that stage, I wasn’t thinking that the next time Scotland played I might be involved but I never gave up.”

Whittaker insists the artificial pitch at the LFF Stadium won’t be a problem for the Scots.

“These are all hurdles that we will have to overcome and we know we are going to come up against them,” he said.

“We will not use that as an excuse when it comes to the match. It is the same for both sides and we want to approach it in a positive frame of mind.

“We know what is at stake in these two matches. Looking at the fixtures then we will probably have to take maximum points if we want to qualify.

“We know that is the situation that we are in and there is not really much room for error.

“We need to attack these games and hopefully we will get the results and points on the board.”

Meanwhile, former Hearts winger Arvydas Novikovas insists the growing Lithuanian contingent in the SPFL has given them even more incentive to stun Scotland.

Vykintas Slivka and Deivydas Matulevicius both joined Hibernian this summer, while promising winger Deimantas Petravicius arrived at Motherwell following a successful trial period.

Novikovas reckons that has added to the hype surrounding the fixture as Edgaras Jankauskas’ side aim to build on their impressive 1-1 draw at Hampden last October by claiming all three point in Vilnius.

He said: “There are Vykintas Slivka and Deivydas Matulevicius doing well at Hibs and I certainly watch the Scottish league more often.

“I think what is happening in Scottish football will bring even more excitement and fans to the game.

“In addition I have a lot of friends in Scotland, so it will be a special game.

“Does that make it even more important for me to get the win?

“Maybe. I had some good years there and, also, I think back to the lastminute goal at Hampden (in October) that Scotland needed to get a draw. We want to make amends for that.”

Steven Whittaker never gave up hope of returning to the Scotland set-up.