You need to be brave to able to stand up to tough atmospheres and against top players.

If someone is going to spend a whole game marking you, then there may be games when I will have to sacrifice myself for the team and take them away and create space for a team-mate.

I think you're always fighting a losing battle when you're Scottish and I don't think that's right. I think the way that people look at Scottish football is wrong, but at the same time, we have to start proving it on the park and start showing it again.

Sometimes you just need a wee bit time away from football to freshen things up.

The benefit of coming to a place like Greece and winning is priceless for your development.

That's football. Sometimes luck swings your way and sometimes it doesn't.

I was fortunate to be able to go to the Scotland games with my grandad and it's scary to think I could now be playing in one.

Scoring at the big stadiums in Glasgow is something I have dreamed about doing since I was a wee boy and now I have managed to do that.

When you have a good relationship with a manager, and he leaves, it is disappointing.

You have to be able to deal with the pressures that playing for a big club like Hibs brings and it's not for everyone.

You work so hard to get to a level and you need to grab your chance with both hands.

Alan Hutton and I are always fighting the corner for Scottish football. It's a really tough league down here with a lot of quality players trying to get into the Premier League.

If you are going to be successful in football you have to make sacrifices and that's something I am happy to do.

Opponents know how to get the fouls and it's gone against me a couple of times.

To be honest, I had a brilliant group of players at Hibs and the support were very fair with me. They didn't make it difficult.

I look at the likes of Darren Fletcher and Scott Brown and they're just normal people. They are humble and work away to become the best they can. That's the path I've tried to follow.

I'm the kind of guy who always gives 100 per cent.

You cannot look back and think what if.

I want to play for Scotland at a major tournament, that is the dream and the drive for me.

I remember when I was training with St Mirren as a young boy Ralston was my Hampden and my Wembley.

A lot of players and pundits can be talking the Scottish league down and it's not until players and coaches actually experience it they start respecting it.

I remember when I was at St Mirren someone called me the ugliest thing they had seen at Tynecastle, and two minutes later I scored - it was brilliant. I just laugh it off - I agree with them most of the time!

Two-footed players always get a lot more recognition, so I always practised as a kid with my right foot.

I think everyone will agree that it doesn't matter how we get to an international tournament. We are going to do whatever it takes.

In football you can take the praise when it comes, but you've got to be ready to take the criticism as well.

Sometimes in football you have to take risks.

Playing away from home in Europe is never easy.

You just want to prove people wrong and, over time, people start believing in you.

If we can get Hibs into European football it would be massive for everyone involved.

You are professional so you want to win every game you play.

I'm going from Somerset Park one week to Wembley the next. It's crazy but that's football. You don't get to where you want to be without going through all these different places.

You always need to be on your toes.

You're always looking to go one step further and I'm an ambitious boy.

The Villa boys will not be shy in telling me that I talk about Hibs all the time. I loved my time here, it was a special three seasons so I have a lot to be thankful for from my time here.

It is not easy to get out of it. It is much nicer to be fighting at the top of the league but it is only nicer if you can get something at the end of it.

The advice I would give to young players is always give St Mirren an opportunity.

When you come to a club like Hibs not everyone can handle it, there's pressure in every single game to get results.

That is what all the top players do and if you want to be the best you know you are going to get marked.

I'd been with Saints for 13 years, so it was always going to be a bit strange going back for the first time.

There is not really any point in having a big squad if you don't use it.

I feel as if I'm getting better all the time. At the same time, though, I'm ambitious.

I've always said the same thing - I'm learning, I'm getting better and I'm loving playing in front of sell-out crowds.

I've never hidden the fact I'm ambitious at some point.

Football is a great place to get away from things, and going over to Greece was amazing and I've loved it - it is basically getting away from all the talk.

I'm grateful for what this club has done for me and I love playing for Hibs - I never take that for granted.

It's always nice to be getting personal recognition, but I wouldn't be getting it if it wasn't for the help of my team-mates and the backroom staff.

It was always going to be a risk if I went to America.

The refs try their best. Sometimes they get it right. Sometimes they get it wrong.

I was so used to playing at St Mirren and then Hibs all the time, so it was really important that the next place I was going I was going to play.

You have to beat the best if you want to win tournaments.