Doyle in search of glorious redemption

Kevin Doyle comes to Ireland’s Euros camp with relegation just over his shoulder, pundits questioning his form and even Giovanni Trapattoni suggesting that, in his final outing for doomed Wolves, the player was looking “empty” at the conclusion of a draining and wholly unrewarding club campaign.

Yet the point is not lost on the Wexford man that a minimum of three games next month could end an eminently forgettable season on an absolutely unforgettable note.

“Not one of my best,” he says with deliberate understatement of a Premier League campaign which concluded with Wolves being the first to drop into the Championship. “I probably didn’t enjoy it from start to finish. I’m glad it’s over and I’m glad this is coming up. It was tough for everyone at Wolves to get through the last few weeks of the season but, at least, the four of us (Irish players) had the Euros to keep ourselves fit and train right and stay motivated.