Crystal Palace exit leaves Kevin Doyle in limbo

Kevin Doyle left Crystal Palace’s training ground for the final time yesterday unsure of when his next game of football will be.

The Republic of Ireland striker will return to his parent club, Wolves, next week with the understanding he remains out of Kenny Jackett’s plans and uncertain if he is to move on loan for a third time in 12 months.

The Wexford native scored after coming off the bench in a rare appearance for Palace at Dover in the FA Cup last Sunday week but was not part of Alan Pardew’s squad for the win over Tottenham on Saturday.

Pardew is eager to strengthen his attacking options but Doyle did not fit the new manager’s bill and the club decided against attempting to renew his loan — instead opting to pursue bringing Yaya Sanogo in temporarily from Arsenal, while Jermain Defoe and Rickie Lambert are also on the south London club’s radar.

That leaves Doyle with no other option but to return to Molineux where he will likely remain out of favour.

“I am finished at Crystal Palace and as far as I’m concerned, I will be returning to Wolves next week until the end of the season unless someone else comes in,” Doyle said.

“I am more than happy to play if selected at Wolves but I haven’t been in the manager’s plans, so I’m not sure what will happen. I haven’t spoken to anybody at the club about it and all I know is the date I have to report back.

“It’s been a disappointment [at Palace] because I didn’t really play. I understood when I moved that I wasn’t going to be playing every game but apart from coming off the bench a few times I wasn’t given a chance to make an impact. I didn’t even start a Premier League game.

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles, I guess, and although it sounds slightly odd, I probably needed more people to get injured to get a look in. I can’t say I played shit because I didn’t play — there just wasn’t an opportunity for me to show them what I can do.”

His case for inclusion was damaged by a hernia injury in November which required him to return to Wolves for treatment.

When he came back to Palace, they were on the back of a poor run which eventually resulted in the dismissal of Neil Warnock as manager.

“That didn’t help,” Doyle said. “It put me out for four weeks, I got back at Christmas and even though we had so many games, I wasn’t getting a chance. And I think it was obvious then that things weren’t going to work out here.”

Jackett has already indicated that Doyle will unlikely be considered for selection when he rejoins and has also said that Wolves will listen to any loan offers.

They announced yesterday that Kevin Foley’s contract has been cancelled by mutual agreement.

“That’s a pity because he was my buddy when we were doing those afternoon sessions,” Doyle says of the period where Jackett decided to jettison five players, including the Irish pair, away from the squad’s main training group.

One thing the 31-year-old has ruled out is a move away from England. His wife is expecting next month and Doyle would only consider joining a club within driving distance of his British midlands home.

“Unless it’s commutable distance from my house, I won’t be going anywhere — my wife is due so I’ll be hanging around there.”

As for Palace, Doyle bears no grudge for his lack of opportunities and expects them to survive in the top flight.

“I was treated very well at Palace, it’s a very good club and I think they will stay up,” he added. “Of all the managers I’ve played under, and there have been quite a few, I think Pardew left one of the best first impressions and I’m sure he’ll be able to keep them up. He’s got the right plan and right approach.”