Paul Doyle and his teammates may have received lots of plaudits for their performance in the 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers last Friday night but the Westport native insists that nobody in the Dundalk dressing room is basking in glory.
The midfielder was named as the sponsors’ man of the match for his fine display against the champions but in an extended interview with the Dundalk FC Patreon, Doyle said he preferred to focus on the areas of his game that he was still looking to improve on.
“I was reasonably happy (with Friday),” he said. “When you look back at the games every week you pick the bits and pieces that you are not happy with. As a player, you are probably more inclined to focus on the bits you can improve on as opposed to the bits where you did well.
“I’m no different,” he added. “I came away from Friday night thinking there were four or five moments in the game where I could have done something better or made a difference here or there.
“It’s about getting back on the training ground during the week and trying to fix those flaws and hopefully bring another good performance against Shelbourne at Tolka Park on Friday night.”
Doyle was speaking shortly after the draw for the first round of the Extra.ie FAI Cup saw Dundalk paired with Longford Town at Oriel Park.
The Midlanders were relegated from the Premier Division last season but Doyle insisted that Dundalk would not be taking Gary Cronin’s side lightly when the tie comes around at the end of July.
“We’ll do our homework on them – as we do for everyone else,” he said. “I know from playing against them in the First Division with UCD that they can cause problems and they have good players so we can’t take them lightly.
“During my time at UCD, there were lots of sides in the First Division who could have held their own in the Premier Division. A lot of clubs are unlucky not to get up because the playoff system is tough so we can’t take Longford Town lightly.”
Doyle’s best run in the cup came back in 2018 when he was part of the UCD side that made it to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Dundalk!
The Lilywhites went on to lift the trophy thanks to Patrick McEleney’s winner against Cork City in the decider – a game that Doyle was at – and the 24-year-old said he would love to be holding the famous trophy aloft at the Aviva Stadium in the middle of November.
“The cup is the pinnacle of the year, really,” he said. “The league is your bread and butter and if you look back at a season you’re as good as your league position tells you. The cup offers a different perspective and a chance to go and win a bit of silverware and it’s something I’d like to achieve at some stage.”
