Tommy Doyle was pleased to have contributed to Wolves’ third win of the Premier League season after turning the game on its head when he arrived off the bench at half-time in Saturday’s win over AFC Bournemouth.
The midfielder has had to bide his time for minutes following his loan move from Manchester City in the summer, but having worked his way back to fitness, the England under-21 international gave a 45-minute performance which belied his years, as he played a crucial role in helping Wolves fight back from a goal down to claim all three points against head coach Gary O’Neil’s former side.
On having an influence off the bench
“It was brilliant. Everyone’s been working really hard to get their opportunities, especially me and Sasa for coming off the bench, it was about trying to make an impact. Sasa’s got the winning goal, so everyone’s really happy to have got the three points.
“I’m happy with my performance. I want to keep improving, keep learning, keep getting better, which I think I definitely will under the manager, under the coaches and by playing with this group of players.
“It’s exciting for me, but I’ve just got to keep working hard every day and hopefully I can put in good performances on the pitch. But now, the focus is on the next game and Newcastle.”
On taking his chance
“I’ve been working hard, I’ve been patient, which you have to do when you move to a new club, but I’m used to it now and know what needs to be done.
“I’m happy here, I’m happy to be here, I’m happy that I was able to contribute, but I’m just looking at getting as fit as possible and helping the team.
“But these are the moments you come for, winning the games and performing in front of the fans – who were excellent. I’m really happy, but hopefully I can keep kicking on.”
On the sending off
“I just saw him put his head towards Channy [Hwang]. I saw it straight away and, for me, it was a sending off. If you ask them, they’d probably say it wasn’t, but I thought it was.
“The referee sent him off and we had to take advantage of that, which thankfully, we did.
“Nothing really changed, to be fair. It was just about maintaining what we were doing, keeping the ball, keeping it moving, because sometimes it can be more difficult when a team has 10-men, which it was. They were compact and we just had to be patient and stick to the plan. Thankfully we scored two good goals and won the game.”
Only two players made more passes than @Tommy_Doyle8 on Saturday 🔢
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 23, 2023
Not bad for 45 minutes' work 😅 pic.twitter.com/h68dY2m6q4
On winning for O’Neil
“We want to win every game, but for the manager, this one was special, of course. But for us as players, it was about going out and working to his principles and playing to the way he wants us to play, and that’s got us the three points today.
“We wanted to win like we do every week, but now that game’s done, we’ll be looking at Newcastle who we want to beat as well, and we’re looking forwards to it.”
On improving as a group
“We’re just taking it step by step. There’s principals and patterns that we stick by, that the gaffer implies to us and it’s exciting, it’s good football and it feels good when you’re out there, like I experienced today with my first big chunk of minutes.
“We try and create as many chances as possible. When you’ve got top players like Pedro, you will create a lot of chances, and it’s up to us to finish on those chances. It’s enjoyable so hopefully we can just keep kicking on.”
