Whyte and his rink of Robin Brydone, Euan Kyle and Craig Waddell will finally get their chance at the impending World Curling Championship, though.

With Team Mouat taking a break after the Olympics, victory over Team Waddell at the Scottish Championship in February confirmed their place in Ogden, Utah.

And Whyte concedes that they will travel to the United States with a bit of a point to prove.

“It’s about going out there and showing everyone that we should be getting these chances,” he says. “So there is a bit of pressure on us to show that selecting us would not be a risk the next time these decisions come around.

“Ultimately, we will find out at the end of the week whether we are right about that.”

Although they have since dropped to fifth in the world – due to their inactivity and the recent performances of others – the Scots will be the second highest-ranked rink competing at the worlds, so they should be strong medal contenders.

A handful of the 10 Olympic teams will be in attendance too, but none of them hold any fears for Whyte and his colleagues.

“We will have a bit of a marker on our backs, being ranked second,” he said. “But, if we can be consistent and build towards being top two in the round-robin, we’ll be in good place.

“Obviously we’re looking to be up there right at the end, but we’d be very excited with a medal. We’d love it to be gold, but it’s our first opportunity, so lets have a really good week and see where that takes us.”