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Lifelong Hibs fan Jason Kerr bringing influence to bear as former Wigan ace talks Euro TV dream A scorer against Galatasaray with St Johnstone, centre-half sets sights high in UEFA Conference League From watching on in frustration, to playing a starring role on the field of play, lifelong Hibs fan Jason Kerr has come a long way in 12 short months. Comparing his experience of watching last season’s European travels to his current frontline posting, he obviously has a preference. Kerr, resolute at the heart of defence as Hibs recorded their first clean sheet of the season to secure UEFA Conference League progress in the brutal heat of Skopje last night, grew up following the Easter Road club. First as fan in the stands and then, as his own professional career took him to Perth and Wigan, with a few stops in between. Tuning into Hibs Euro campaign The former St Johnstone centre-half was a keen viewer as Hibs pushed Midtjylland all the way in the Europa League and knocked Partizan Belgrade out of the Conference League before eventually falling to Legia Warsaw in the play-offs last season. All three of those ties went to extra time. Pleased to be involved in a much less stressful affair in North Macedonia, with Hibs making professional work of KF Shkendija in a 0-0 draw that saw them progress via a 2-1 aggregate win, Kerr said: “Yeah, 100 per cent. I know if you're watching the game, it's not the best game to watch. “But as a defender, getting a clean sheet, especially when you're ahead in the tie, take that all day. Just to get through is all that really matters. “I think we've shown that we can do that now. In other games, we've conceded goals, but we've scored more goals. “This was a different performance. We managed to get the clean sheet and that's what was needed. “I think getting the clean sheet as well, first of the season, we'll take confidence from that as well, especially as defenders. “It was a completely different game. We had to ride our luck a little bit. We made a good few blocks, a lot of defensive actions, but to get the clean sheet and get through to the next round was massive for us. “Yeah, I did watch them in Europe last year, to be fair. Obviously, it's tough watching them get so close and not get past.” Asked if he’d been shouting at the telly, a grinning Kerr said: “I wouldn’t say that. Obviously, playing football, I know what it's like to play against teams like that. It can be tough, but I'm here now and hopefully we can take that next step “Yeah, definitely this is better. I know, when you're watching the telly, you've not got much control at all, so it's good to actually be on the pitch and help the boys get there and get through this round and, hopefully, get a good result in the next two games.” European anniversary Kerr marked a personal European anniversary just last week; it was five years since his most famous goal for St Johnstone, against Galatasaray in Turkey. Admitting he was made aware of it by Hibs assistant coach Liam Craig, the defender said: “I just need to get one this season now. “It takes a lot to get through this next round. I think the quality of opposition when you get to this stage of the competition is really high. So, obviously, over two legs, you need to be at the top of your game. “So it's going to take a lot, but I'm fully confident in the players we've got in the dressing room. There's a lot of quality and I think we can do it. “One tie away from getting through to the league stages and that's what everyone at the club really wants, is to get there. So, hopefully we can do that. “Yeah, definitely, this group keeps hitting new milestones. Obviously, Rangers on Sunday, that was a milestone. Hopefully we can get more this season. “Like I said before, it's a really good group of players. There's a lot of quality, even on the bench as well. There's lads that probably think they should be starting. It's a really good squad and, hopefully, we can take the next step. “Even here, I didn't feel like they were knocking on the door, really. I felt like, defensively, our structure was really good. We made a few subs. They helped us a lot and I think we just dug it out defensively. I think it was an all-round good defensive display from us.”