Wolves defender Matt Doherty insists that his loan spell has made him a better player, despite the period ending with a whimper.
Defender hoping to prove himself at Wolves after loan spell
Wolves defender Matt Doherty insists that his loan spell has made him a better player, despite the period ending with a whimper.
The 20-year-old caught the eye after joining Scottish Premier League outfit Hibernian in January, making 17 appearances and scoring twice.
However, his final appearance for the Edinburgh club saw Hibs crushed 5-1 by local rivals Hearts in Saturday's Scottish Cup final.
"It definitely hurt every one of the lads to the core to lose the game in the way that we did," said Doherty.
"I'm proud to say I played for a club with the history such as Hibs and I'm very grateful to Pat Fenlon and the supporters for the support they gave me up there.
"I loved it and it has been a huge part in my development but my focus is now 100 per cent on playing for Wolves.
"I can't wait now to start back in pre-season, use everything I have learned and show the new manager what I'm capable of."
Promising
The promising full-back's performances have not gone unnoticed, with him on stand-by for the upcoming Republic of Ireland under-21 squad, and Doherty is keen to go one step further in the near future.
"Obviously, you want to play for your country at all levels and I did so for the under-15's and under 19's, getting through go to the European Championships semi-final with the latter," he added.
"That was an incredible experience for me and I enjoyed it massively, so to play for the under-21's is the next stage up for me and I'd loved to be involved.
"I haven't been picked yet, but hopefully the fact that I've been playing regularly for Hibs and helped them get into the cup final will help my cause.
"I am on standby for the upcoming squad which is disappointing, I can't lie, but I will have to be patient, keep my head down, continue to work hard and hopefully I'll get the call sooner rather than later."
