MICK MCCARTHY HAS backed Kevin Doyle to recapture his form and spearhead Wolves’ push for promotion after the striker indicated that he will stay at Molineux next season.
Coming off a season disrupted by injury, Doyle has been linked to a Premier League return with Swansea, Reading and Southampton all rumoured to be interested in the 28-year-old.
The Republic of Ireland international distanced himself from a move last week and said that he was looking forward to working with new manager Stale Solbakken, who replaced Terry Connor after last season’s survival bid ended in relegation to the Championship.
McCarthy, who signed Doyle for a club record fee from Reading in the summer of 2009, feels that staying put for now will be in the player’s best interests.
“Tactically, politically and for him this year career-wise, it’s the right thing to do,” McCarthy told TheScore.ie on Monday. “Commit himself to it and go in wholeheartedly.”
“I don’t think anyone has come in for him. If they are, I’ve no doubt Doyler would like to be back in the Premier League.”
Last season, I don’t know. He kinda ran out of gas, he had an injury early on. All sorts of things can affect your form. But for him to say I’m staying at Wolves, I think it’s great for him, for his own head and his psychological well-being.
Doyle has only scored 18 league goals in the three seasons since his move to the West Midlands, but McCarthy was quick to highlight the other strengths he brings to the team.
“He was one of the players who kept us up the year before with his performances. He was outstanding. He has to do a lone job at times and he does it so unselfishly, so selflessly. He was terrific.
“The biggest compliment he ever got was Ledley King said to Harry [Redknapp], ‘Doyle, he’s some effin’ handful.’ For Ledley King to say that — and he was a Rolls-Royce of a player.
“Other managers would all comment on how Kevin Doyle would cause two centre-halves real problems and knocked them about and puffed them up and ran them in channels. None of them liked playing against him.
“Maybe it was just a bit too much for him last year, that was his third season doing it.”
Mick McCarthy was speaking at the launch of ESPN’s Premier League coverage for the 2012/2013 season. For more information, visit www.espn.ie.
