Martin Boyle has insisted he is 'living and breathing' Hibernian, as he sought to clarify comments he made earlier this summer about playing in Australia.

During international duty with the Socceroos in June, the winger was asked about the possibility of switching Scotland for the A-League after reports emerged in the Australian media that Melbourne City and Perth Glory were keeping tabs on him. But although Boyle answered honestly, his response was placed in a different context when the Glory's director of football Stan Lazaridis, providing TV analysis for Australia's 5-0 win against Palestine, was asked about Boyle and said: "I would love him here, of course. He's a quality player. We'll continue the conversation and see how it goes."

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Now Boyle has moved to reassure Hibs fans that he is not going anywhere, as he spoke for the first time about the speculation from the club's training base in the Netherlands - and reaffirmed his commitment to the Easter Road side.

“I’m a Hibernian player, and I will be a Hibernian player until they say it’s enough," he explained. "That’s how I want it to be. There is nothing I love more than representing this club. My family are embedded in the club, my kids love this club."

"I’m still contracted here, and that’s how it will be for the remainder of my contract. I just want to get that straight. A lot of fans maybe took it like I was wanting to jump ship, wanting out, but I want to get the story straight. That’s not the case. At the age I am, the idea of giving something back to Australia was the point I was trying to get across."

Boyle has been in football long enough to know that things can be misinterpreted all too easily. But he remains adamant that he was talking about the future, and not seeking to disrespect Hibs in any way - or cause fans to believe he wanted out.

“In my head, I knew what I was meaning. But other people maybe took it out of context. Looking back on it, it doesn’t look great, but there was no way I wanted to disrespect the club at all. It was me talking about future plans. Speculation is speculation, I’ve said that before. 

"It’s got to the point where I’m living and breathing Hibs. I want it to always be like that. I love nothing more than being at this club and representing this club," he added.