Wolves boss details "incredibly tough" Tommy Doyle conversation ahead of Sheffield United reunion

Gary O'Neil, the Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, has detailed his "incredibly tough" conversation with midfielder Tommy Doyle ahead of another potential reunion with his former club Sheffield United on Sunday. The Manchester City man enjoyed a successful loan spell at Bramall Lane last season, helping the Blades to promotion to the Premier League as well as the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Top-flight loan rules made any potential return difficult, with United re-signing Doyle's City teammate James McAtee for their Premier League survival bid, and the England U21 international instead joined Wolves on loan with a view to a permanent. Doyle impressed for O'Neil's men over the new year before losing his place, with Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes establishing themselves as O'Neil's first-choice midfield partnership.

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O'Neil could break up that duo to give Doyle a start against the Blades this weekend, as he did earlier in the season at Bramall Lane when Ollie Norwood's last-gasp penalty sealed a rare victory. "It was an incredibly tough chat with Tommy," O'Neil said. "To leave somebody out, who has performed that well, is never an easy conversation to have.

"The way Tommy is, he's a great guy and has been unbelievable around the place for the culture and what we're trying to set here. The way he is every day is really refreshing. It took him a long time to force his way in and there was never any disappointment shown, he was always ready to work with a smile.

"Previously, it was regularly Joao and Mario and Tommy was considered behind them. The way he has performed has closed that gap massively and I now have a really tough decision to make around which two it is or whether we try to get all three in.

"That's credit to Tommy, because Mario and Joao have performed at such a high level. For Tommy to have put as much pressure on them as he has, is a real credit to him. It's never nice to leave someone out, especially one that has done so well, is such a good guy and works so hard, but he took it extremely well."