It is a warning that was being underlined by defender Chris Hogg last night. One of the most consistent players at the club, Hogg had his own first public run-out on Saturday when he led the side to a 4-0 win over Dunfermline, but in an interview with Hibernian TV last night he backed up the warnings already made by his boss: "It has been a good start to pre-season but we don't want to get carried away with ourselves. We all know that the club has a long way to go before we get to where we want to be, these games are about fitness - but then it is always nice to win, and if we can carry on with that in pre-season then it will help confidence going into the season proper."

The recent departure of Rob Jones has left Chris seeking a new central defensive partner, and on Saturday that was Ian Murray: "Ian is a good player and for my part I feel comfortable with any player, I try to concentrate on what I'm doing and try to help out my defensive partner - it is a partnership so we help each other. We have a few good players who can play in central defence, Ian is I think suspended for the first three games of the season but hopefully I'll be involved in these games alongside whoever comes in to do the job.

"Having clean sheets in our games so far is encouraging in particular as we have not really got down to work defensively yet. It's a positive start because training has all been about passing the ball, trying to move the ball as quickly as we can. We have to do that and get in really tight when we do lose the ball - that would make us difficult to play against. But as I say there is a lot of work for us to do yet so we cannot get carried away by good results at this stage of the year.

"In football you are going to make mistakes, there is just not a player in the world who does not make mistakes. It is about being brave and getting on the ball as much as you can despite that, a point Brian Rice made to me was that if someone gets on the ball 99 times and gives it away 98 times the thing that you know is that he is always wanting to be on the ball, he has the desire to get the ball. We have to know as defenders that we are going to lose the ball, there is going to be pressure on us but we have to rise above that and be brave, get our foot on the ball and move it quickly."

Chris was also pleased with the return of Merouane Zemmama to the side at Dunfermline, the Moroccan making his first appearance for the club in a year: "It was great to see him back at the weekend in particular his first-half performance which was great. The more training he does with the rest of us the better and fitter he will become - it is important that we keep him in with the team and feeling happy and involved. He is the type of player that needs to be loved, and if you love him we can see what he can do with the ball.

"We've seen what he can do with a ball, he can take it in any circumstance and he has very clever feet - but we have to keep him focussed, I know what Zouma is like, if he gets a bit too happy with his performance he starts to try little nutmegs and the likes! If they come off then it's great, hopefully though he can carry on getting fitter and improve."

The departure of Rob Jones has of course left a vacancy for the role of Club Captain, a job that Chris undertook on the occasions when Rob was out of action. While still awaiting a decision from the manager on that job, Chris made it clear that he was ready to meet any demands made: "I feel that the best way is to lead by example in any case, so if it happens then it will be a natural progression for me, it would not phase me or change my approach in any way."

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