MICHAEL Carrick is pleased Josh Coburn and Matthew Hoppe have had to take the rough with the smooth in their loan spells away from Middlesbrough.

Coburn has spent the full season with Bristol Rovers, while Hoppe linked up with Scottish Premiership side Hibs in January.

Twenty-year-old Coburn enjoyed an excellent first half to the League One season, scoring nine goals and establishing himself in the Rovers frontline, with boss Joey Barton tipping the Boro striker to go on and play for England in the future.

A change in system and a slight niggle meant Coburn dropped out of the Bristol Rovers starting XI and had to settle for a role as a substitute for a couple of months, but he won back his place and started three games in a row before the international break.

Carrick is watching closely ahead of Coburn's return to Boro in the summer, and although the striker hasn't played quite as much football in the second half of the League One season as he did in the first, the head coach says he's had a "really good" year and will have learnt an awful lot - particularly in the last couple of months.

“Josh hasn’t played as much lately, but that’s part of the experience and doesn’t mean that it’s a bad time," said Carrick.

"You take something from every situation you’re in. I remember when I was a young player, you take success when it comes and it feels fantastic when you’re doing well. But at some point you might come out of the team and it’s all part of the experience and the learning curve. They’re the moments when you look back and you’ll realise you’ve learned the most about yourself.

"Josh will be fine. He’s had a really good season and it’s been a really good season for him. The hope is that he’ll take all of that in, grow from it and he’ll come back here in the summer a better player.”

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As for Hoppe, he was on the fringes at Boro after joining in the summer but the plan on Teesside was always to be patient with the 22-year-old. He made a late deadline day move to Hibs in January and has made a decent impact scoring one and adding two assists in his five appearances, through he hasn't been able to build too much momentum with Lee Johnson's side having played just five league games in seven weeks.

Carrick said: “It’s been a funny period for Matthew at Hibs because of the nature of their fixture list. I think they had a period where they only had one game in about three or four weeks.

"But for me, as a younger player, all of the experiences you have on loan are vital. It’s not just about going out on loan and playing well, it’s the whole package: a new environment, different people, different ways of playing football, different styles and different coaching or learning.

"You go out and play in big games where there is more resting on the games than at under-21 level. In Scotland, for example, there are some big games up there for Matthew to be involved in, which is terrific for him to experience.

"He’s doing well. We obviously keep a track of him as we do all the players. I really enjoy seeing them go out to learn, grow and develop and then come back and see where they’re at when they get back. The hope is obviously that they’ve improved."