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Star Hibs signing Josh Mulligan has laid bare his Scotland World Cup ambitions after earning a late call-up for the most recent squad. But he’s vowed not to get “big-headed” over Steve Clarke sending him an SOS ahead of the Belarus game – and will continue to focus on club form as he chases a return to the national team set-up. Mulligan, who bagged an assist in another impressive performance as Hibs beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie yesterday, revealed how family pride had been the over-riding reaction to getting called up by national team boss Clarke to cover for injury withdrawals last month. In just a single pre-match training session with the group, helping the team prepare for a home win over Belarus that keeps Scotland in firm contention for next summer’s finals in Canada, Mexico in the USA, the former Under-21 star definitely developed an appetite for more involvement with the senior side. Asked how it felt when Clarke called to invite him along to training in the wake of a scrappy home win over Greece, Mulligan said: “Honestly, over the moon. I can't describe that feeling of getting called up. “It was a huge moment for my family as well. They were probably more proud than me, but it was a great experience. “It’s massive obviously. You can take it two ways. You can either get big-headed or see it as an opportunity. “I want to see as a chance for me to get in there. First of all, I need to put in the performances with Hibs and that’s what I’m looking to do. “You have to have that confidence in yourself but it's about doing it. It's easy to think you should be in there, but it's about doing it on the pitch. Hopefully I can keep doing that. “I only trained one day, the day before the game. So, it was quite light, but even the standard in a light session, you could tell straight away if you give the ball away, you weren’t getting it back! “There are top players in that squad and that's the level I want to be at. So hopefully I can keep pushing them. “Obviously I knew a few of them from the 21s as well so that was good. But Hibs are the most important thing for me at the moment. “After the Hearts game I was a bit disappointed with the way I performed in that - even a few games before that I thought I could do more. The last two games, I've definitely done a wee bit more. “I just want to continue that. The hardest thing is being consistent - and I want to be known as a consistent player.” A second straight league win, building on the back of the previous weekend’s defeat of Livingston at Easter Road, saw Hibs return to third place in the Scottish Premiership. With Rangers at home next up on Wednesday night, Hibs face a potentially vital early turning point in a campaign laden with opportunity for disruption to the established order. Mulligan, addressing what he feels has changed, insisted: “Even earlier on in the season, I still thought we were playing well. We were just conceding goals at bad times. “I think we're still playing well, we're just seeing games out better. The three points are all that matters and winning at Aberdeen was massive. “The hardest thing to do is win games of football. If you get in that habit of winning week in week out, it puts you in good stead. “I don't like looking at other teams. I like focusing on ourselves. We're in a good place just now and the next game's obviously Rangers and me and the boys will be right up for that one. Hopefully the fans are as well.” Your next Hibs read: Midfield star gets Scotland cap encouragement
