Lord of the Dance
Doyle and Dunne relish play-off final challenge
Sport

Doyle and Dunne relish play-off final challenge

 

KEVIN Doyle is determined to secure top flight status for QPR this Saturday, when the West London club face Derby County in the play-off final.

The Irish striker, who is on-loan from Wolves, is hoping to end the club’s year-long spell in the Championship with an impressive performance to finish off their season.

Before joining Harry Redknapp’s QPR side in January Doyle was forced to train with Wolves’ youth team with several other members of the senior squad, but he may now be on his way to the Premier League if Rangers secure victory at Wembley.

“Wolves made it clear and I understand their situation,” Doyle said.

“I don’t feel bitter towards the or anything. It was such a total downer.

“We had three good years in the Premier League and then it was two years of disaster”

Whilst Doyle has one year remaining on his contract with Wolves, Redknapp may be keen to sign the 30-year-old if the club clinch a return to the top flight.

“I have only been here since the end of January, but it’s nice to come in and not be involved in what happened in the past,” Doyle added.

Meanwhile, his Rangers teammate Richard Dunne has pointed out that Derby County striker Chris Martin will be the team’s major threat in Saturday’s match.

The Dublin native hailed Martin as a “very important player” for the opponents after his success for the club this season.

“He holds the ball up; he’s physically very strong,” Dunne said.

“They break quick and for them to do that, they rely on his hold up play.

“We know what to expect of him, but stopping him is an altogether different matter - hopefully on Saturday we can keep him quiet and he will have an off day.”

Dunne also revealed that Rangers are ready for the challenge and that they are well prepared for the clash.

“We’ll work on our game plan all week and if we stick to it and show the ability we have, we’re confident we can get the result we all want,” Dunne added.

“We showed against Wigan how much we want it and it’s up to us to step up and get the job done. Preparation is key this week, it’s vitally important.

“We need to build on what we did against Wigan, on and off the pitch.

“The game plan will be clear - we know what we’ll need to do.”