Murray Davidson couldn’t change his style of play even if he wanted.
The number of injuries he’s picked up as a result of his fearless mindset is a testament to that.
So it should come as no surprise that the St Johnstone midfielder has pledged that the possibility of being booked and suspended for the League Cup final won’t enter his thinking at Tynecastle on Saturday.
Davidson, who is a doubt for the clash with Hibs with a hip problem, already has one yellow card to his name in the competition.
Another at the weekend, and he’d be suspended for the Hampden final should Saints see off the Easter Road club.
For a man who suffered on the sidelines when his team-mates made history for Saints with their 2014 Scottish Cup final success, it would take cup torture to a new level.
But the possibility of this nightmare scenario won’t cause him to pull out of any tackles in Gorgie.
“It’s quite funny,” the former Livingston man said. “Me and Scobs (Tam Scobbies) are on a booking and we were the two players who missed the cup final through injury.
“If I make the game I can’t go into it worrying about picking up a yellow card.
“I don’t think it’s a great rule but it’s there. The Morton game was the one I was booked in.
“Like I said though, you can’t let it get into your head.
“The way I play I can’t start thinking ‘I better not make that tackle’. I have to tackle. It would be madness to think differently.”
Every cup final seems to have a story of somebody being forced to miss out on the big day through suspension.
Last year it was Dundee United’s Nadir Ciftci, who actually went into their semi-final with Aberdeen not knowing he was a booking away from Hampden torture.
“It wouldn’t make a difference to me whether I knew that a yellow card would keep me out of the final or if I didn’t,” Davidson said.
“During games, especially a semi-final, it can be hard to keep your emotions in checks sometimes.
“If we win and I get booked that’s life. I’d just have to accept it.
“Suspensions are part of the game if you’re a player who makes tackles.
“You have to win the game first so at the moment it’s pretty irrelevant.”
Davidson has never hidden his pain at being an onlooker for Saints’ greatest ever day, and the memories of missing out then will drive him on to be part of another cup success story.
“There’s no regret because I couldn’t help the fact that I go up for a header and I rupture my patellar tendon,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d be at the Scottish Cup final.
“I was OK leading up to the game but as soon as it kicked off it was horrible.
“I’m sure Tam Scobbie will say the same. It wasn’t nice.
“There were so many highs after the game but you’re not part of it.
“I was delighted for so many people but there was that tinge of disappointment because I missed out on such a big occasion.
“When you miss games like that it just makes you even more determined.
“The boys who played in that game are desperate to savour it again and I’m desperate to savour it for the first time.
“As soon as the Scottish Cup final was over, getting to another final becomes something you really want because you weren’t a part of it.”
If Saints get to the final they will have done so without playing a Premiership side.
But, as was the case when they faced Rangers, he sees Hibs as a top flight club in all but name.
“People look from the outside and see a Premiership side against a lower league side,” he said.
“But in my eyes Hibs are definitely a Premiership team.
“They’ve got some very good players and will be there or thereabouts for promotion. I’m expecting a very tight game.
“Whoever performs best on the day will take the tie.
“We were definitely the underdogs going into the Rangers game. They had home advantage and were on an unbelievable run at the time.
“We played very well on the night but that was a long time ago.
“This is a totally different game and we know that we’ve got a great chance if we play well but if we don’t, it will be a struggle.”