Ex-Hibee hopes for better after injury cut return short

Little over two months ago, Cregg was hauled from the action just half an hour into a return to the place he called home as a player under John Hughes during a frustrating stay last season. Sunday's second chance comes at a perfect time for Cregg to showcase his talent, the player's recent return from that injury coinciding with Saints' increasingly stoic resistance to the prospect of relegation.

"It's not so much that I had a point to prove, you just to want to go back and do well and show that you can play there," said Cregg, 25. "I'm very appreciative of the time I did spend (at Hibs] and I think they've got a great fanbase. They're loyal, too, as you can see from when they weren't doing too well earlier this season.

"In my first game back at Easter Road, I came off injured after 35 minutes. Obviously I was keen to make an impression, but hopefully it will be different this time.

"I'll be looking forward to it," continued the Irishman. "It's a really good stadium, a good club and arguably the third biggest club in Scotland, but I'm sure Hearts fans would argue against that."

Far from casting an envious eye east from a current, relegation-threatened side towards a former club in the Capital he sees bubbling with optimism under Colin Calderwood, Cregg is both magnanimous in wishing his old team-mates well and fully focused on achieving a rosy future in Renfrewshire.

"I'm sure next season Hibs will be top six," he predicted. "I think Calderwood's getting his own players in and with a pre-season they'll all fit together. He'll get his points fully across and they'll be stronger. I'm sure they'll sign a couple of players in the summer.

"I want to see Hibs do well, just like Falkirk and Arsenal (his other previous clubs]. The Irish lads like Liam (Miller] and Stacky (Graham Stack] are a good bunch of boys. Obviously my loyalties are with St Mirren, and I want to see us do as well as possible."

While Cregg may experience a flashback of a previous chapter of his career as he takes the walk up the Easter Road tunnel on Sunday, it was facing the black and white stripes of St Mirren on his Hibs debut 20 months ago that offered a glimpse into his future.

"My Hibs debut, the first game of the (2009/10] season against St Mirren, that was a very proud moment for me, just like it was a proud moment in my first game against Motherwell for St Mirren.

"Scoring at Easter Road was another highlight. It was against Dundee United (in March 2010], but unfortunately we lost the game. Ian Murray got the to byline and cut the ball back, their centre back missed the ball and it came to me on the edge of the box, I got time to take a touch and hit the back of the net.

"I didn't play as much as I would've liked - 18 games in total. The team was doing well, though, and sometimes you've got to take it on the chin when the lads are doing well and you're sitting on the bench.

"Obviously John Hughes did a good job in terms of finishing fourth [in 2009/10], but I don't think it went as well the following season [Hughes left Hibs by mutual consent in October earlier this season]. I was grateful to him for taking me there. Although I only played 18 games, it was a proper club, with a nice stadium and training ground."

Cregg will pitch up at Easter Road on Sunday in the company of a few others familiar with the north-east Edinburgh surroundings. David van Zanten, the Saints full back, and midfielder Sean Lynch have pulled on the green and white in recent seasons, while defender Darren McGregor is a Leith boy. The man who will lead the Paisley Saints, manager Danny Lennon, was part of the Hibs first-team as a youngster between 1988 and 1993.

Cregg said, "Obviously there are quite a few of us at St Mirren who were at Hibs, myself David and Sean and the manager were there. You look forward to going to play at stadiums like Easter Road. It's a big game for us."

"I'll be looking forward to it. It's a really good stadium, a good club and arguably the third biggest in Scotland"