Hogg: Pressure is all on Hibs
St Johnstone's Sam Parkin holds off Caley Thistle's Chris Hogg.
CHRIS Hogg insists his return to Easter Road this Saturday is all about Caley Thistle gunning for victory and not about his rollercoaster ride at Hibs.
The former Hibees skipper sought a move away from the capital in the January transfer window after being frozen out when Colin Calderwood came in as manager earlier this season.
ICT boss Terry Butcher swooped to land the central defender, who has shown up well and also hit the net recently in the 5-1 Scottish Cup rout against Morton.
Last Saturday, he helped the Inverness side to a clean sheet in a 2-0 league win against St Johnstone, their first SPL victory since defeating Hibs in November.
Hogg is not surprised to see his old club battle back to ease away from the SPL trapdoor in recent weeks.
He told the HN: “My time with Hibs has got to be put aside this weekend. We must concentrate on the team performance. We know Hibs are a big club, but it will be great to go there and try and get the win. If we play well, we’re more than capable of doing that.
“Hibs were always going to hit form, but it’s up to us to concentrate on what we do.
“The pressure is all on Hibs, they are the home team and we’ll go there and look to put in a performance and stamp our authority on the game. If we can do that, we’re more than capable of getting a result.”
Reflecting on the 2-0 victory against St Johnstone, the determined 25-year-old was thrilled to help net the points without giving the Saints an opening.
He said: “It was a difficult, scrappy game, but football is a results business and we were delighted with a clean sheet and two goals.
“We’ll move on now with three points, so it was a good day all round. It was a really positive result.
“The manager was delighted with it and, as defenders, we were happy to keep them out. It was a real team effort.
“It was important for us not to let them back into the game, especially after what happened the previous week (the 3-3 draw against St Mirren). I thought we looked comfortable. They had the odd half-chance here and there but we kept going, kept working and got the result.”
Hogg coped well in central defence at the weekend alongside Ross Tokely and then Chris Innes after David Proctor went off injured.
And the Middlesbrough-born stopper said: “Since I arrived, there has been a bit of change in the back four because of suspensions and injuries, but whoever has played there has given everything they’ve got. That’s all we can ask of anyone through the team.”
Hogg’s lack of games at Hibs this season meant he knew he had to work hard on his fitness from day one at Inverness. He reckons that, with each passing match, he’s getting sharper.
He explained: “Week on week, I feel I am getting fitter. I maybe struggled in my first game here because it was my first match in a few months. I just want to get fitter and fitter. I’m still a mile off from where I want to be and need to be.
“However, I am happy with the last two weeks because I feel I am contributing a lot more to the team in terms of my performance.”
Another factor helping Hogg settle in is the Highland welcome he’s received from his team-mates.
He stressed: “It’s a great squad and a very friendly club. Everyone has been nothing but nice to me since I came here.
“It’s great to join a group of players with so much desire and attitude to win football games.
“There’s also great banter and we can all get a laugh off the pitch too, which is important. I’m enjoying it, but I’ll only continue to enjoy if we’re winning, so we’re looking to do that on Saturday.”
