KEVIN DOYLE ADMITS he has yet to hear from QPR after he helped the London club regain their Premier League place after a four-month loan spell.
The Irish forward made 12 appearances for QPR, scoring two goals, after a loan move from Wolves at the end of January. He started the Championship playoff final that Rangers won 1-0.
The last few weeks have been hectic for Doyle as he decamped from London to Birmingham before heading home for a brief stay in Wexford. Ireland’s end-of-season tour is the priority before a decision will be made to play another Championship season with Wolves [newly promoted from League One] or seek a move elsewhere.
“It’s up the the air,” Doyle admitted when asked about his future. “I’m here until the end of the American tour and am then on holidays for a few weeks and report back to Wolves on 7 July. That is as far as I know at the moment.”
Pressed about staying on with QPR, Doyle commented that ‘nothing was said or guaranteed’ by boss Harry Redknapp. Despite the fact that his future is unclear, the forward says he was unhindered from celebrating the R’s promotion last weekend. Many of his teammates had been ‘on the other end of it’ the previous season and contract worries were swept aside for 48 joyous hours.
The best thing Doyle can do to ensure he remains in Redknapp’s thoughts is to score a goal or two on international duty. The 30-year-old bristled at suggestions he is the team’s ‘veteran striker’ when Robbie Keane is absent but acknowledges he has a responsibility as a senior player in the squad.
“When Shane Long played up front on his own, he got some goals. I’ve got a number of goals for Ireland, Jon Walters has a number of goals, so it is all about just chipping in.
No-one in the world is going to match Robbie’s [goalscoring] record, or very few ever, so you’re comparing us to somebody who’s record is incomparable to 99% of strikers in the world. Even the best strikers in the world don’t have his goalscoring record at international level.
“Realistically, we’re not going to match that but we can bring other things to the team… His record is as good as it is ever going to be. I can’t see anybody ever beating it after us. Never say never but for somebody to beat that record, he is going to have to be some player.”
