Kevin McBride admits surprise at being given Hibs armband

KEVIN McBRIDE today insisted he was merely "filling in" as he took over as skipper from Chris Hogg, saying the defender remains Hibs captain.

The midfield star led his team-mates out to face Inverness Caledonian Thistle after boss John Hughes opted to drop Hogg in favour of new signing Francis Dickoh, a role McBride is expected to perform again today as Hamilton visit Easter Road.

The choice of McBride to pull on the armband with the club's vice-captain Ian Murray sitting alongside Hogg on the substitutes' bench may have surprised some, but none more than the player himself who revealed it was the first time he'd been asked to take such responsibility in a first-team game.

The 29-year-old didn't learn of his promotion until just ten minutes before Hughes delivered his team talk prior to the Caley clash, revealing: "The gaffer pulled Liam Miller and myself aside and said one of us would be captain, that was the first I had heard of it.

"Liam suggested he give me it. Chris is captain of the club, he was absent and the manager asked me to fill in. It was a privilege to do so for such a massive club."

McBride insisted, however, the added responsibility hadn't proved a burden, saying: "I don't think you need an armband to be a captain, I believe every player going out there should be a captain. I played as I always play, to win. But unfortunately that didn't prove to be the case."

The 1-1 draw with Caley ended a run of six successive home defeats for Hibs but still left Hughes' players with just four points out of a possible 12 from their opening matches of the season, a statistic which has left some supporters disgruntled.

But the former Celtic, Motherwell and Falkirk star claimed he'd actually been aware of the fans getting behind him and his team-mates insisting that, had Hibs taken the chances they created, then they'd have run out comfortable winners.

He said: "I thought we controlled the game for large parts although give Caley credit for coming at us in the second half. If we'd taken the chances we created, though, we'd have scored three or four."

While agreeing a single point rather than all three was a disappointment, McBride was adamant there was no great cause for concern within the Easter Road ranks. He said: "I think we'd be worried if we were not creating chances.

"We are doing so, however, and we have the players who can do so. It's down to us to take them."Although Hughes and his players weren't pointing the finger of blame, another glaring miss from Edwin de Graaf singled out the midfielder for the brunt of the fans' frustration, the Dutch star having passed up a glorious opportunity to open the scoring against Rangers before the Ibrox side went on to record an emphatic 3-0 victory three weeks earlier.

In defence of his team-mate, McBride said: "Edwin has unfortunately missed a couple although the first one was a great challenge by Madjid Bougherra, but I am sure he'll get other chances."

Hughes is similarly convinced but revealed a slight concern that the 29-year-old may find his natural instinct to charge into opposition penalty areas inhibited by his failure to find the net on these two occasions.

Admitting to "a frustration" at having seen scoring opportunities scorned - Derek Riordan having also missed with a spot-kick before Adam Rooney equalised with a penalty for Caley - the Hibs boss said: "The football, the spirit, the effort and commitment have certainly been there but we have not been clinical enough when the chances have come our way.

"Take Edwin, for example. He could have had four or six goals by now but they will come. Even when Derek opened the scoring last week Edwin was in there, beyond the centre-forward. We brought him here for that, his game is getting in beyond the strikers. My worry is that he stops doing that. It will turn eventually, he will get a goal and then there will be others. Lady Luck seems to have deserted us a bit at the moment."

Regardless of luck, whether good or bad, McBride conceded Hibs should be meeting their supporters' hopes when facing clubs such as St Mirren and Inverness, their last two games having yielded just one point when the vast majority were expecting six.

And he's aware that most will again be expecting a win this afternoon against a Hamilton side which was crushed 5-1 on their last visit to Easter Road.

He said: "If we want to finish where we want to go then, without being disrespectful, we have to beat teams like Inverness, especially at home.

"The fans have expectations, but so do the manager and players. It's up to us to win today but it is always hard against Hamilton. We've struggled a bit at their stadium but won well here. It will be difficult, but it is up to us to stand up to the challenge."