INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Emmet Malone talks to the Reading striker who, along with team-mate Stephen Hunt, must resign himself for now to life in the Championship
WHEN IRELAND started their World Cup campaign four years ago Kevin Doyle was a Cork City player following the team's progress on the television. This time around, he will not only be on tomorrow's team flight to Frankfurt but looks certain to be a central figure as the bid for qualification unfolds during the coming months.
Despite his relative newcomer status, the Wexfordman is already playing for his third international manager. Brian Kerr gave him his first call-ups, Steve Staunton his first caps but under Giovanni Trapattoni he hopes not only to become a real fixture but also enjoy a little success with the national team.
On the former front, at least, the early signs are good. "He's always been very good to me," says the 25-year-old. "For a start, he's picked me in each of the three games, which is confidence booster."
His hopes of staying in favour with the Italian depend in part, he admits, on how his club career progresses and a day after the transfer window closed in England there is a mixture of disappointment that a path back to the Premier League failed to materialise and relief that his future is finally sorted, at least for the moment.
"He (Trapattoni) hasn't said anything but common sense suggests that playing in the Premier is better. As it is, people think it'll be cake-walk for me in Championship, but it's not like that. There are a lot of very good teams. Outside the Premier league, Italy, Spain, Germany and France, the Championship is probably the next best division and I'll need to do well this season to stay in the Irish team."
As it happens, there were reports yesterday that Doyle might have been a Tottenham player by midnight on Monday with the London club said to have tried but failed to raise anyone on the phone at Reading in order to make a €8.6 million bid for the striker.
After a summer filled with what seemed like endless speculation, though, the Irishman is happy at least that there is some certainty about where he will be playing his football over the course of the coming campaign.
"There's been four months of this, that and the other," he sighs. "I'm just glad it's over. Especially the last month, it's been wrecking my head a little bit. It's nice now to concentrate on doing the business for Reading and getting back to the Premier League that way."
Doyle played his hand well over the course of the close season, though, doing enough to suggest he would be happy to consider an offer while never giving his current manager, Steve Coppell, anything to complain about in relation to his commitment.
Asked now whether he thought things were going to end differently, he admits there were certainly times when he did.
"Well I was never 100 per cent, but there were probably three times during the summer when I thought I'd be moving. I wasn't 100 per cent confident about anything.
"It was probably going right up until the last day but it didn't happen so it's time to forget about it."
Far more uncertain over the last few weeks was the future of team-mate and close friend Stephen Hunt who, having seen a proposed move to Sunderland last January come to nothing, had made little secret of his desire to move to a Premier League side.
"He won't like me saying it but I'm glad he's staying," says Doyle. "We need every player if we are to go up and he's a massive player for Reading. To lose him would have been disappointing and had I gone I'm sure he would have said the same thing.
"He was back on the left wing on Saturday having played a few games at left back, so he's happy with that."
Hunt's frustration that Reading would not accept a bid from Everton for his services on Monday is entirely obvious, however. The midfielder doesn't actually name the Merseyside club as having been his desired destination and Coppell denied yesterday there had been a firm bid from anyone, but David Moyes's interest was well known. It was widely reported as the deadline approached that €4.2 million was bid while Reading were holding out for the €6.2 million that would trigger a release clause in the player's contract.
"It's disappointing that Reading couldn't help me out in terms of what I wanted to do to forward my career," he says. "I spoke to the manager and the director of football about the situation yesterday but it didn't happen.
"I feel I've been ultra professional and probably deserved a little bit better because they got me for nothing and I've given them good service. At the same time, I can understand where they were coming from but that doesn't stop it being frustrating that I'm not back playing in the Premier League."
Hunt's difficulty seems to have been the two clubs were unable to agree a structure for payments that would, ultimately, have amounted to the €6.2 million required. "It's in my contract that the £5 million (€6.2 million) has to be paid straight up front. Now Reading would have gotten a hefty lump up front but it would have probably been a year of so until they got it all.
"It's all left me in a zone where I'm a little bit angry and disappointed. Some of the lads here were saying today that if we (he and Doyle) had been bad apples we would have got away but I suppose if a club had wanted me all that badly then they would have paid the £5 million. But I have done myself justice in the Premier League before and that's where I'm determined to get back to, with Reading or without Reading."
