The ultimatum delivered to me by Hibernian’s late chairman Tom Hart after I’d asked for time to consider the club’s offer.

A deal that would have changed the course of football history in the capital.

Then a disgruntled Hart, none too pleased when I told him my brother Chris was at Hearts and had also played for Rangers, got fed up with my reluctance to put pen to paper when it suited him.

Abruptly pulling the contract, he sniped: “You’re too small and too slow anyway.”

And with that I was dramatically set on the road to becoming a Hearts legend.

I was only 16 and Hart’s blunt assessment of my capabilities as a striker cut me to the bone.

Yet, that fateful day I had walked into the Easter Road boardroom with manager and Scottish football great Eddie Turnbull fully committed to signing a two-year deal on £55 per week.

Some 28 years on I still wonder how different things could have been. Would I have instead become the Hammer of HEARTS? We’ll never know, but Hart’s put-down pushed me towards Tynecastle.

For the next decade I was driven by desire to crush Hibs at EVERY opportunity.

It didn’t matter if I scored for the reserves or first team — every goal against them gave me immense satisfaction.

All I could think about was proving Hart wrong. I think I managed to do that.

Breaking the derby goalscoring record of Hearts idol Willie Bauld — I netted 27 in total against Hibs in two spells as a Jambo — gave me enormous pride.

Over the years there have been so many myths and lies spread about me and Hibs. Well, today I’m delighted to give SunSport readers the TRUTH.

It is true that as a kid I went to Easter Road for games with my big Hibs-supporting brother George. But it’s WRONG for anyone to claim I was actually a Hibee.

I’ve NEVER been a Hibs fan. I’ve never had a season ticket. I just loved the atmosphere of big matches and I admired the team, packed with top players such as Pat Stanton, Alex Edwards, Alex Cropley and Jimmy O’Rourke.

The posters on my bedroom wall were of Liverpool stars like Tommy Smith and Kevin Keegan. The Reds were the team who really captured my heart as a kid.

My love affair with Hearts only truly began after I signed for Bobby Moncur. It’s also true that for two years, from 14, I trained two nights a week with Hibs and savoured the quality coaching.

I was also being courted by Celtic plus a host of English clubs like Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Man City.

I started with Hibs not long after I lost my beloved father, John Grant senior, who was a devoted Hearts fan and worshipper of Bauld. He died on November 18, 1978, a date I’ll never forget.

I get a lump in my throat whenever I think of how proud he’d have been of my Tynecastle career.

My dad was my hero and his proudest moment would have been to see two of his sons play for Hearts in the same game. Chris and I only got 17 minutes against Queen of the South in 1982, but it meant so much for both of us.

I had high hopes of making a name for myself and attracted the attention of scouts playing for Salvesen Boys Club and Edina Hibs. Mr Turnbull made it clear he wanted to sign me. I weighed up everything,

including offers from Forest, who were the European champions, and Arsenal, before deciding Hibs would be best for me. Terms were agreed quickly and everything looked certain until Tom Hart’s shock intervention, after I’d informed Chris had played for Rangers.

Hart didn’t like anything to do with Rangers. He told me to sign there and then.

But I insisted I wanted to go home and consider things, believing I’d join Hibs anyway. Hart had other ideas, and proceeded to belittle me.

There was no way back, despite Mr Turnbull trying to persuade his chairman to reconsider.

Chris, who by now was a Hearts player, was astonished at Hart’s comments, and told me he’d speak to Bobby Moncur about me going to Hearts. Within a few days I became a Jambo on a two-year deal for £50 a week.

And from that moment on I thrived on crushing Hibs. For long enough I was motivated by Hart, I wanted revenge for his rejection, I wanted to HAUNT Hibs.

But eventually my competitive streak was sparked purely from wanting derby success and beating Bauld’s capital record of 14 goals.

Once I’d got it, I just wanted to push the record higher to set the bar for future generations.