Doyle to start for Wolves in Aussie friendly

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ club record signing Kevin Doyle will play in an Australian pre-season friendly against Perth Glory, manager Mick McCarthy said Thursday.

Wolves, newly-promoted to the English Premier League, signed striker Doyle in a 6.5 million pounds (10.47 million US) deal from Reading late last month.

McCarthy said Doyle, a Republic of Ireland international, will lead the attack against Glory on Friday and will prove to be a vital asset for Wolves this season.

“I’m delighted with Doyle, it’s a real coup for the club,” he said. “There were a number of clubs interested and it was brilliant we managed to persuade him to come to Wolves. When we signed Doyle it got a great response.

“It looks like we’ve got a much better squad (with him in there).”

Doyle said he was confident Wolves would survive in the Premiership.

“I’m happy with my decision (to sign with Wolves),” Doyle said.

“Time will tell but I’m pretty confident we’ll do well, I wouldn’t have signed otherwise.

“I had a chance to go to a team who’s (playing) in Europe this year and I came to Wolves instead, so I think that shows my confidence.”

McCarthy, who led Wolves back to the top flight after a five-year absence, said he expected a rusty performance from his squad, who only started pre-season training last week.

“It’s the first pre-season game, it’s the first game after being off for two months,” McCarthy said. “Two months off, it takes you a while to get back into it.

“It is about us getting fit though. It’s not about us having a great result against Perth Glory, and having a great result throughout all pre-season … and then getting slapped on the first day of the new season against West Ham.

“This is preparation for our Premiership season.”

Wolves are in Western Australia for an 11-day training camp and will play former England striker Robbie Fowler’s new Australian club, North Queensland Fury, on a double-header bill here next Wednesday.

Glory coach David Mitchell said he intended to unveil his new signings, Socceroos Mile Sterjovski and Jacob Burns and former Derby County defender Andy Todd against Wolves.