He is one of those no-fuss players whose contributions can often go unnoticed. However, Paul Doyle’s performances at Dundalk this season haven’t slipped under his manager’s radar.
Stephen O’Donnell believes that in the former UCD midfielder he has a player who can control the tempo of a game - and make telling contributions at both ends of the pitch. And he is getting better with each performance, according to the Oriel Park chief.
The 24-year-old has already scored twice for the Lilywhites - and in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers he put in one of his best displays to date.
“He's a cultured footballer, good in tight areas and he is playing with confidence now,” beamed O’Donnell.
“He is sort of on autopilot, he's not thinking about things. Maybe when your confidence is a bit lower you are taking maybe that extra half-second to do things and you are getting robbed."
“He is playing naturally now and that's the type of player he is. He can take the sting out of a game, find a pass and maybe be the first pass in your build-up to a good attack, which can go under the radar a little bit. But every really good team needs a player that can control the tempo of the game.”
Friday’s win moved Dundalk to within just five points of Rovers - and the Lilywhites have a game-in-hand over the back-to-back champions. It was Doyle’s 17th appearance of the season, although in most of those he has either been summoned from the bench or substituted before full-time.
“He mightn't have played a lot of 90s because we have options in midfield and just to freshen things up,” explained O’Donnell.
“But he has played very well in the games he has played in. He has very good qualities. I took him off at half-time against St Pat's at Inchicore (in April), so that was the test.
“I had a good chat with him, how was he going to react to that, and he has actually gone up levels since, so that is great from a personality trait and a character stand-point. We just need to keep working with him, because he will go up even more levels.”
It’s not just O’Donnell who has noticed Doyle’s qualities. Robbie Benson, who plays in midfield with Doyle, netted the winner last Friday against Rovers. He also arrived at Dundalk from UCD, before establishing himself as a key member of Stephen Kenny’s all-conquering side.
Benson said: “He’s brilliant. He’s definitely grown into it.
“I didn’t really know Paul, I’d never met him, but he was a player I admired and from keeping in touch with the older lads from UCD when I was there, they always spoke very highly of him. He’s a talented boy, very brave on the ball, and there’s more to come from him for the rest of the season.”
He too feels that Doyle doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves - in part because of his former club.
“[It’s] like anyone coming from UCD really, bar the ones scoring a couple of goals,” he said. "There are a couple of lads there now getting a lot of praise but sometimes that takes the gloss off players like Paul who, in their position, won’t stand out as much for goals and assists.
“But he is integral to the way we play, getting his body in on both sides of the ball and switching the play for us.”
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