Inverness manager Terry Butcher has told Chris Hogg he has nothing to prove to anyone when the former Hibernian captain returns to Easter Road on Saturday.
Hogg left Hibs for the Highlands on the last day of the January transfer window after falling out of favour. The Middlesbrough-born defender was struggling for a first-team place in the last weeks of John Hughes' reign and made just three appearances in more than three months under Colin Calderwood.
Butcher wants the 25-year-old to forget about the past though and concentrate on helping Inverness try to extend their three-match unbeaten run. The Caley Thistle manager said: "Chris Hogg has nothing to prove to anyone, I must stress that."
He added: "He's an excellent player and a fantastic professional, and a great lad. He gets stuck in and wants to work at his game and wants to learn. He is really enjoying playing.
"He didn't play a lot in the last couple of months at Hibs, circumstances like that happen at football clubs. He has moved on from there, we have all moved on."
Hogg quickly won a place in Butcher's injury-hit defence following his move and helped Inverness keep a clean sheet during last weekend's win over St Johnstone.
The former England captain added: "He is looking forward to going back to face them but he's looking forward to playing another match for us, let alone facing Hibernian.
"He is really excited about that, which is fantastic. We have stopped him doing the press this week, I want him to focus totally on his job at hand."
Inverness have lost David Proctor to a hamstring injury but Jonny Hayes could return for the Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash following a foot knock.
"Jonny Hayes is making good progress, he may be in the squad, we are optimistic," Butcher said. "Nick Ross, Gavin Morrison and Kenny Gillet are all training again, which is good."
Source: PA
