Hogg hopes to take lead from experience

JONATHAN Hogg believes his experience as a professional footballer has prepared him well to take up a leadership role in the Town squad.

The combative midfielder has been the side’s go-to man when club captain Tommy Smith has not been on the field this season and, with the promotion-winning right-back suffering a tear in his hamstring against Arsenal, it looks as though Hogg will continue as stand-in skipper for the near future.

The 30-year-old began his senior career at Aston Villa in 2009 and has made more than 250 league appearances over the following eight years, earning promotion to the Premier League with the Terriers in 2017.

And Hogg believes his experience and maturity allows him to be a leader in the Town squad, which is the sixth youngest in the top flight.

The Town star said: “Obviously when you first break into a first team and you’re a young lad it takes a bit of time to settle down because you’ve got a lot of players older than you.

“The older you get, the more experienced you get – that’s what’s helped me.

“The experience of being in the game for a long time compared to some of them that are coming through now allows me to take this role to a new level.

“I think you need one of those players.

“Every team needs someone like that to keep everyone on their toes and make sure they’re doing their jobs right. Obviously you’ve got your