REPUBLIC OF IRELAND striker Kevin Doyle will use the fear of failure to fuel a revenge mission against Cyprus tomorrow night.
The 25-year-old Reading striker could only look on from the stands as Ireland slipped to a hugely damaging 5-2 European Championship qualifier defeat in Nicosia two years ago, although he played in the 1-1 draw at Croke Park 12 months later which und
erlined the Cypriots' emergence as a genuine threat.
Those experiences provide a reminder of the task Giovanni Trapattoni's men face in Dublin as they attempt to add three more World Cup points to the four they collected from their opening qualifiers against Georgia and Montenegro. Said Doyle: "As players and supporters, everyone is probably a bit less confident – not confident, less cocksure and just expecting to win – which is a good thing. Me personally, I prefer it when I am a bit more on edge. I think we play better, and hopefully that will be the case tomorrow.
"It wasn't a one-off against us. Cyprus have been very good over the last few years.
"I saw them against Italy earlier on in the season and they put in a very good performance.
"They drew away to Georgia the other night as well, and that's a very good result for them. It won't be an easy game."
Doyle is expected to line-up once again alongside captain Robbie Keane in attack, and the younger man will hope his rich vein of form continues.
He has eight goals to his name in ten appearances for the Royals so far this season, and that tally includes two hat-tricks.
That is a creditable return for a man who joined up for last month's internationals with his dream of a swift move back to the Barclays Premier League, with Tottenham and Aston Villa monitoring his situation, having been dashed.
Added Doyle: "The form has come for me in the last six or seven weeks."
The full article contains 337 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.