Andrew Hogg is confident that the current Malta team can achieve a lot more than it has in the past. Kevin Azzopardi spoke to the experienced Hibernians goalkeeper whose composed showing in the 1-1 friendly draw against Estonia suggests that he’s back to his best after coming through a turbulent period in his career...

By his own admission, the first six months of this year were the most difficult of his entire career but keeper Andrew Hogg refused to give up in the face of adversity.

A dragging contractual row with AEL Kalloni left Hogg with no option but to quit the cash-strapped Greek club in February, even though this meant that he had to put his club career on the back burner for a few months.

This situation threatened to undermine Hogg’s lofty status in the national team as, having also undergone surgery to address a minor problem, he was left out of the Malta squad for the friendly games against the Czech Republic and Austria in the final week of May.

At the time, it looked as though Hogg, who signed for Hibs in the close season, had lost his grip on the no.1 shirt as Valletta’s Henry Bonello started Malta’s last three outings but, restored to first-team duty for the friendly against Estonia on Wednesday, the 31-year-old delivered a timely reminder of his qualities with a reassuring display.

“My last game for Malta before Wednesday had been the friendly against Jordan in Istanbul back in November,” Hogg said in an interview with the Times of Malta.

“In a way, the coach’s decision to play me against Estonia was a vote of confidence in my abilities but, to be honest, I was optimistic about my chances of starting that game.

“It came after the most difficult period of my career but I never lost faith and was working hard with my new team and on my own because I believed I could still achieve certain goals.”

AEL Kalloni’s failure to fulfil their financial obligations towards Hogg prompted the latter to take legal action against the club.

“My situation with Kalloni… we’re in and out of court, waiting for the final decision,” he said, adding that the court has ruled in his favour.

Although Hogg looks to have put the Kalloni ordeal behind him, he admitted that “it’s still something that weighs on my mind at times”.

Having overcome many challenges in his career, Hogg insisted that the travails caused by his difficult experience at Kalloni didn’t dampen his motivation to get back to his best.

“When it comes to my profession, I’m very ambitious,” Hogg said. “When I set my mind on something, I do everything I can to achieve it. It has always been like that and, playing abroad, you have to bring that mentality to the plate.”

While Hogg has been Malta’s first-choice goalkeeper for much of the past seven years, he has always faced strong competition for the no.1 jersey.

Not long ago, his main challenger was Justin Haber and, over the past year, Bonello, winner of back-to-back Premier League titles with Hibs and Valletta, has emerged as a strong contender for the Malta shirt.

“I’ve had competition throughout my career,” Hogg replied when asked about Bonello’s challenge.

“Whatever you do in life, you’re always going to have competition. I’ve had competition since I was 13 but you just focus on your game and try to be the best.”

Hogg had good reason to be pleased with his showing in Wednesday’s friendly as he did his part in helping Malta gain a commendable 1-1 draw which has lifted their morale ahead of the opening 2018 World Cup qualifier against Scotland tomorrow at the National Stadium (kick-off: 20.45).

“The mood is upbeat,” Hogg, who has 46 Malta caps, said.

“A draw in an away game, even though it was a friendly, is always a good result.

“I can assure you that Estonia were not there to experiment and try certain things, they badly wanted to win the game.

“As for my performance, I was very satisfied. Being back on the pitch for an international game, I felt as if nothing had changed.

“I worked very hard to get back to the level I’m at . Obviously, it took some games to find my feet but that’s football… it’s all about rhythm.”

After spending four years abroad, where he also had a spell with Enosis Neon Paralimni in Cyprus, Hogg felt that a return to Maltese football represented the best option  to put his club career back on track and his choice fell on Hibernians.

“It’s been very positive so far,” Hogg said of his move to the Paolites.

“We started badly (Hibs lost 3-1 to Ħamrun Spartans in their league opener) but I’m very confident about this team.

“The last game against Sliema Wanderers was a show of character from us… it was one of those games we will be facing quite often during the season where you just have to grind out a result.

“I’m enjoying being back in a situation where there is great team spirit because you don’t find this abroad.

“I’m also pleasantly surprised about the level of the top six teams in the Premier League.

“There has been a notable rise in the standards of the top clubs since I left Malta four years ago.

“The increase in the number of foreigners has contributed to this improvement. To be honest, I was always in favour of opening the doors to more foreigners because I believe that the Maltese players that are good enough to play will always be given a chance.

“Even as national team, we should not feel inferior.”

The national team is clearly close to Hogg’s heart.

His facial expression changed when Hogg spoke about his disappointment at what he perceives as a lack of appreciation for the efforts of the Maltese players at international level.

“The talk about the national team in general annoys me a bit,” Hogg reflected.

“The public perception leaves a lot to be desired because we’re made out to be less than we actually are.

“I mean, in the last qualifying campaign for Euro 2016, we achieved respect from everybody. We showed that we are footballers.”

Positive mindset

A new competition for Malta begins tomorrow night when they host Scotland in their first qualifier from Group F which also includes England, Slovakia, Slovenia and Lithuania.

The gutsy showing in Wednesday’s friendly against Estonia has provided a much-needed injection of confidence ahead of tomorrow’s test. Hogg is upbeat.

“I’m positive,” he said.

“On our day, we can get a result against anybody.

“I firmly believe that with this team, we can achieve a lot more than we have done in the past. We’ve been together for several years and we understand each other well.

“We just need to shed this inferiority complex and believe more.”