Hibs hitman Matthew Hoppe insists he’s fired-up to prove former boss Chris Wilder wrong by helping blast the Easter Road side into Europe.
The 6ft 3in US international has made a big impression since arriving in Leith on loan from Boro on deadline day.
A goal and two assist in five appearances have helped lift Lee Johnson’s side into the Euro reckoning.
It’s a far cry from his first seven months on Teeside where Hoppe was cast aside by Wilder and reduced to six fleeting appearances off the bench after his arrival from Mallorca.
Wilder, who was sacked in November, had dubbed the eight-times capped frontman a “development striker” when he clinched the £2.5m move to Boro. That was despite spending the previous three years in La Liga and the Bundesliga where he netted six times for Schalke.
By the time Michael Carrick took over Hoppe was well down the pecking order and only too glad for the opportunity of kickstart his season at Hibs and show the new boss - and the old one - what he’s capable of.
He told Teeside Live: “When Chris Wilder said that it just motivated me to work harder to show what I could do.
“People can have opinions about you, but you can’t let it bring you down, you just have to work hard and do your best. You just have to focus on yourself and what you can do.
"It doesn’t serve much purpose to get frustrated.
“Those periods serve as learning experiences and you’ve got to look at it that way and look forward.
“There has been a lot of stuff that was ultimately out of my control. For me, the biggest thing was just continuing to work hard and not get down when things weren’t going my way.
"Right now, the most important thing is playing time. I think that’s when you see what someone is really capable of, and that was the biggest motivator for me coming to Hibs - to get the opportunity to show what I can do.
“So far it’s been good. I’m getting to play games and have got a goal and assists. I’m working hard on my game and have been developing over the past two months and I think this loan is really helping my transition to British football.
“It’s a really physical league in Scotland but that just means I’m needing to get stronger and work on other parts of my game to try and succeed.
"The club is currently pushing for Europe so my efforts are focused on that and trying to score goals to help that push.
“It’s a good challenge and it feels like the perfect move and the right step for my development.
“It’s a great club, great fanbase and great place to live, so I’m really enjoying it so far and I want to try and help them."
Meanwhile, Johnson has been boosted by the news Joe Newell will return from injury against Motherwell next week. But Kyle Magennis has been ruled out for another month.
Midfielder Newell hasn’t featured since February 4 after injuring an ankle while forward Magennis has missed the last five weeks with a pelvic problem
Defender Rocky Bushiri could also be back in a month as he steps up his recovery from ankle ligament injury.
