Sheffield United star's promotion belief after encouraging Coventry City victory
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The win, in front of a sold-out Bramall Lane crowd, moved Doyle and Co. eight points clear of third-placed Blackburn Rovers in the race for the Premier League. United also have a better goal difference than the Lancashire outfit, meaning the gap is effectively three wins.
No-one in the Bramall Lane bootroom is getting too carried away at this early stage, with almost half a Championship season remaining and plenty of twists and turns to come. But United have come back strongly after the World Cup break, winning all three of their games so far to dispel any fears about faltering momentum, and go to Blackpool on Thursday evening hoping to consolidate their promotion push.
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Hide Ad“I think the lads did brilliantly,” Manchester City loanee Doyle, who came off the bench to score with his first touch within 60 seconds, said. “We played when we needed to, we battled when we needed to and at the end when it got a little bit tough, we stuck together and we saw the game out. Which is a great sign.
“To be fair we've done that quite a lot this season. We've played good football but we've also been able to fight and do what we needed to do to win the game. and I think we showed that again today. The first half was very good and the second half got a bit cagey near the end. But we were pretty comfortable in the end.
“We have a very good squad, good players in each position, which is what you want. We push each other every day as players; there's no bitterness or anything when someone starts ahead of someone else. It's just part of the game and at the end of the day we're a team. And the best teams get promoted.”
After recovering from a troublesome calf issue that derailed his progress after a strong start to life at Bramall Lane, Doyle could return to the starting XI at Bloomfield Road if Sander Berge is not risked following a foot injury he picked up early against Coventry.
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