I’m still the same finisher but I’ve lost confidence through sitting on sidelines. I really struggle with it.. SAYS IRELAND’S SCOTT HOGAN
SCOTT HOGAN admits he is still waiting for his international career to ignite after a frustrating time for club and country.
But despite being frozen out at Aston Villa under former boss Steve Bruce, the striker has told Martin O’neill that his natural scoring instincts remain as sharp as ever.
Horgan recovered from two serious knee injuries to become one of the most lethal strikers in the Championship at Brentford.
But Villa dished out £12million to sign him on a four-and-a-half year deal on deadline day in January 2017 at a time when West Ham had failed with a number of offers.
Crystal Palace and West Brom also made late enquiries for the former warehouse and chemical factory worker who made his name in non-league football.
Hogan has 10 goals in 55 appearances at Villa but was heavily linked with a switch to Championship leaders Sheffield United during the summer.
He was keen to go but was prevented from doing so and was persuaded to stay at Villa on the back of promises made by Bruce and a belief the team would change their style.
Then Hogan (left) ended up missing all of pre-season with another injury setback, something that has plagued the one-time Manchester United trialist in his career.
Yet despite recovering from that groin problem a month ago,
Hogan didn’t get a sniff under Bruce and hasn’t played a single minute for
Villa this season.
None of which is ideal when Ireland boss O’neill (inset) is crying out for an answer to a fiveyear goal-scoring conundrum.
Salford-born Hogan, 26, was first drafted in for the World Cup qualifiers at the tail end of the last campaign and eventually made his debut away to Turkey in March this year. The fact he spurned a golden opportunity on his bow still haunts him.
But Hogan – who admits being surprised at this call-up, all things considered – insists club woes will not hold him back this week. “It’s hard because for the past five weeks I wasn’t selected. For what reason, I’m not sure, I wasn’t told,” he said. “Ever since I signed for Villa, it’s been stop-start for one reason or another, reasons I don’t want to mention.
“But I’m not coming away on international level thinking