Chris Cadden dreaming of digging out passport for Hibs and Scotland as he eyes perfect ending to season

Cadden is bang in form and insists he's never given up on his hope of adding to his two Scotland caps - but knows he must shine in Leith to have any chance.

Seven years have passed since Chris Cadden made his two Scotland appearances in end of season friendly matches against Peru and Mexico.

But the Hibs right back has never given up on his dream of adding to that pair of caps. Some players might already be thinking about slipping into their flip flops in a few weeks’ time.

Not the Easter Road ace though. He insists pulling on the boots for his country would be the perfect way to spend the first two weeks in June.

Scotland warm up for the World Cup qualifiers with a Hampden friendly against Iceland and a trip to face Liechtenstein.

Steve Clarke could experiment with his squad particularly as he looks for extra right back cover.

And Cadden - who is back to his best after an Achilles rupture ruined last season - admits he would love to play a part. But only after ensuring Hibs are digging out their passports for Europe by finishing third.

He said: "Yeah, I've always wanted to play for Scotland. Playing those two times was the pinnacle of my career. It was one of the proudest moments of my life and something that I'll cherish a lot.

“Listen, if it came then that would be absolutely great. But I've just got to concentrate on Hibs.

"If it doesn't come then it doesn't change anything. That'll be something I'll take into account at the end of the season. But right now, it's just full focus on playing as best I can and trying to help Hibs be as successful as possible.

“This was my first full season coming back from a pretty serious injury. I was getting frustrated with myself, there was always going to be a period where I wasn't feeling up to 100 per cent. But I've worked hard and kept my head down. Now I feel like I'm playing pretty well. I feel really good.

"I don't know if it's the best form of my career, but it's probably the proudest I've been of myself in terms of what I've been through.”

Cadden has been a key part of Hibs’ resurgence that has seen them rocket into third spot on the back of a sensational 17-game unbeaten run.

The 28-year-old reckons David Gray is building something special at Easter Road. And the foundation for that was going through the rocky start to the season as a group.

Cadden, who penned a new deal last month, said: “To be honest, going through a lot of adversity at the start of the season helps you.

“A squad can go one way or the other. We stuck together, fought for each other. It was tough out there at some points when things weren't going our way. Losing last-minute goals and everyone was going against us. We were at the bottom.

"But for the group and the players in the dressing room, we just stuck together and hopefully, we're reaping the benefits of that now.

"It's a great group. It's been really tight knit. It's a pleasure going into the dressing room every single day. It's one of the best dressing rooms I've had in my career.”

That team spirit has Hibs in pole position for the potentially lucrative third place finish. Gray appeared to be teetering towards the sack five months ago with the club rock bottom.

Hibs recovered. And Cadden would love to repay the boss by clinching third.

He said: “He's just been so calm and level-headed, which has been great for us because we felt the pressure at the start of the season. It's a big club. You do feel it.

"Every time you went to Easter Road, it's a tough place to be if fans demand things. We weren't good enough at the start of the season.

"The criticism we were getting was expected. We felt that as players. I can't even imagine what it would be like for a manager.

“He's been unbelievable, especially for his first job. The way it started, he's been great. I'm just buzzing for him that we've been able to turn it around and have this run.

"It's a credit to him and his coaching staff for how hard they've worked and what they've done.

"If we keep winning games of football then it's going to be hard to catch us, to be honest. So that's the goal.

“But we won't look too far past the Aberdeen game this weekend. This is the big one just now and we'll go in there trying to get three points, as we always do.”