Doyle looking for innovation

Kevin Doyle conceded yesterday the Ireland players must learn how to be more adaptable if they are improve on their recent record in qualifying campaigns and make it to South Africa in 2010.

Speaking at the launch of the Danone-sponsored under-12 Nations Cup Tournament in Dublin some 24 hours after Marco Tardelli and Liam Brady had suggested the squad will need to show more versatility under Giovanni Trapattoni, the Reading striker acknowledged the team must ensure they are able to make the most of the veteran Italian's vast know-how.

"I remember when Steve Staunton first took over we played Sweden and changed the system," he said. "It worked great that night and we kept it for a while but it never seemed to click again and eventually we went back to 4-4-2.

"I don't know whether you just have to persevere with these things but with England and Ireland it always seems to be 4-4-2. Seeing some of the quotes from (Brady and Tardelli's press conference) yesterday, though, it's interesting that it seems strange to Tardelli that you can't just change the formation. Maybe if they bring that sense of simplicity to it and we can work it out in our heads it won't seem so complicated.

"It's actually exciting sometimes as a player when you do change formation - just to play a different role is good. With lesser teams sometimes it's better to stick with the tried and tested so that everybody knows what they're doing but I think when you get to the higher levels you see the top teams with managers changing systems, formations, players - it's something you have to work on in training but if you do that then the players should be able to adapt.

"I suppose that it's just that everybody knows how to play 4-4-2," said the 24-year-old. "We've all done it since we were kids and when you switch from it things can start to seem complicated. We (Reading) had it on Saturday against Newcastle when we tried to change it and it didn't really work out - for some reason it just gets complicated whenever anything changes within that.

"Now, with somebody as experienced as Trapattoni, hopefully he'll be able to coach it into us. When they seem to see it as being so straightforward, hopefully they'll make us realise that it's no magical, complicated thing."

Doyle has yet to speak with the new management team but was pleased Brady and Tardelli came to see Reading's game against Manchester City last month.

"It's nice that they came so soon after taking on the job and it's good that the three of us played well that day."

The striker hadn't been born when Marco Tardelli famously celebrated the second goal in Italy's 1982 World Cup final win over West Germany and it was only when one of Steve Coppell's coaches showed it to him on Youtube that he got to see it.

Doyle reckons two more wins will be enough to guarantee Reading's place in the top flight for next season and hopes the team can register the first against Fulham this weekend after last week's 3-0 defeat at Newcastle where Damien Duff returned to the first team after almost a month on the sidelines. Kevin Keegan had dropped Duff but the latter's application in training combined with a lively performance after coming on towards the end of last week's game seems to have restored Keegan's confidence in the Irishman.

"What you have to have in your squad is the ability to change things at all times," said Keegan.

"And we've got that with someone like Damien Duff - he's on fire at the moment. I thought he might get a goal (against Reading) and he was unlucky not to. He's champing at the bit to get back in the team."