Pompey skipper: dressing-room bust-up united us

The Blues skipper has spoken for the first time about the half-time clash with the defender against Stevenage last November.

Doyle admitted his regret at the fight which led to the pair being withdrawn as Paul Cook’s side fell to a 2-1 loss.

The 35-year-old accepted the incident led to his team’s downfall that day – and being at fault for that was tough to take.

The Irishman underlined he believes it’s necessary to stand up and be accountable for his actions instead of shy away from them.

Doyle is in no doubt both he and Burgess, as well as the rest of his team-mates, have formed a closer bond in the aftermath of the flashpoint.

That can be seen in the impetus the captain feels has been building since as his side go to Crawley tomorrow.

‘In these situations you can be a bit of a coward and not front up,’ said Doyle.

‘For me, it was important to stand up, but I’m not going to hide away from making a mistake.

‘You have to man up and put yourself out there.

‘People are quick enough to take praise as players. You’ve got to be big enough to take criticism as well.