St Johnstone’s Kevin Rutkiewicz is hoping his first album will hit the right note with music fans.
As well as being a professional footballer, the popular “Dinky” is also an accomplished singer-songwriter who has performed on stage at King Tut’s in Glasgow.
And he revealed that the birth of his daughter helped provide inspiration for some of the songs on the self-penned album, which is released on Friday.
“I have been working on it for about six months in a private studio and it is called Handwritten,” said Rutkiewicz.
“There are 11 songs and obviously they are all self-written.
“It is available on iTunes from August 6 and after that we will be getting hard copies made up to sell at McDiarmid Park and in private shops such as HMV.
“My music is laid-back acoustic but it has been jazzed up a bit for the album.
“I have not done a lot publicity wise so far but I wanted the launch to coincide with the start of the season so it would maybe catch on with the football community.
“I will also have a website up and running in the next couple of weeks as well.
“I am already working on another album-it is just something I like doing and it keeps me out of trouble,” he added.
“I wrote a lot of Handwritten while I was recuperating from injury and I also had a daughter, Layla, in November which helped me.
“To be honest, anything eventful in my life provides inspiration.”
Rutkiewicz had more time on his hands to concentrate on his music than he would have liked last season after suffering two medial ligament injuries.
Now though, he is hoping to play a big part in Saints’ 2010-2011 campaign, as he believes he has never been fitter.
“Last season was incredibly frustrating for me,” he said.
“When you spend most of your days in the physio’s room, you do not feel part of the team. So I am delighted to be back in the fold and just playing games.”