Doyle hopes to go from rejection to the Royal Box

Eleven years on from digesting the words of rejection from Martin O’Neill, Michael Doyle stands on the cusp of becoming the first Irish FA Cup final captain since 2008.

Coping with a Hull City side two divisions above them in tomorrow’s semi-final at Wembley won’t daunt Sheffield United. Sure, in their Irish-born skipper they have an exemplar in overcoming adversary.

Then-boss O’Neill dashed the Celtic dreams of Doyle by tabling the inconvenient truth before him. If the 21-year-old was to make a first-team breakthrough, it wasn’t going to be at Celtic.