No short cuts as dedicated Doyle hits new heights

John Doyle turns 35 in a couple of weeks’ time but there was never any question of him looking for leniency from Kildare boss Kieran McGeeney.

When he decided to come back to the fold, there were going to be no short cuts.

He wanted to be there from the outset, his seven points on a bitterly cold Newbridge on Sunday a testament to how much enjoyment he continues to garner from the game.

“I felt it was all or nothing,” he admitted. ”

I’d prefer to be out doing a bit, trying to keep as sharp as I can. I’m sure if I went to Kieran and said I wanted a bit of time off he would have been accommodating but I didn’t want that. I’m the same as everyone else.”

Doyle didn’t have to think too long about extending his inter-county career into a 14th season, one which saw him break Philip Jordan’s all-time record of consecutive Championship appearances with 62 last summer.

“When you get that bit older, once you realise that when you do close the door that’s it. There is no visiting it again. That was very much in the back of my mind.

“I thought about it, I spoke to Siobhan (Doyle’s wife) at home, she gave me all the support and I had a good chat with Kieran.

“We have a special bunch at the moment, it is very hard to walk away from it”

The allure of Division One football would have been a big factor in Doyle’s thinking and he agrees Kildare’s chances of success this summer will be boosted by playing in the top flight during the spring.

“Even though Division 2 can be competitive, you won’t be punished as much but every mistake at the higher level is going to be punished.

“It’s how we deal with them and how we learn from them.

That’s not to say Kildare will find it easy at new heights.

Doyle expects a difficult campaign for the Lilywhites.

“We’ll have to learn harsh lessons along the way. It’s not always pretty,” he said before adding, “There is no room for error from the word go.”

He doesn’t look at the season as a be-all and end-all for this group of Kildare players.

“You can read a lot into that. It was said last year that it was do or die. It’s do or die every year.

“Regardless of whatever happens in 2013, we’ll be back in 2014.

“You’re not going anywhere that will always be the case.”

Even if he would prefer Newbridge hosted all their home league games this spring, he’s looking forward to facing Donegal and Dublin in Croke Park on February 2 and March 10 respectively.

“It’s not a bad substitute to have.

“For young lads coming in maybe they can be a bit in awe of it.

“It’s only by playing up there that you see the grass is the same, the goals are the same.

“These are the basic principles. For the young lads especially, it’s good for them to get the few extra games.”