Matthew Hoppe reveals Hibs Euro target and the Chris Wilder snub firing his hunger

dailyrecord.co.uk:

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.