Have your say: Wembley is long way off, insists Blades captain

The Blades, who missed out on automatic promotion to neighbours Sheffield Wednesday, are left relying on success in the end-of-season play-offs to win elevation to the Championship.

With Huddersfield Town playing Milton Keynes Dons in the second semi-final, the possibility of an all-Yorkshire final at Wembley on May 26 is on the cards.

But Doyle, who won a League One promotion winner’s medal with Leeds United two years ago, says there can be no mention of a trip to the national stadium within the Blades’ dressing room.

The former Republic of Ireland international has even ticked off his own father for telephoning from Dublin to enquire about tickets.

“We are still a long way from a play-off final and I am not looking anywhere beyond Stevenage,” Doyle said yesterday. “My Dad rang last night saying ‘I’ll come over for the final’ but I said ‘Don’t even mention the final to me – because we are not anywhere near that yet.

“That’s the sort of mentality we need around the place. We should have enough experience in the dressing room not to be talking about Wembley. And, if anyone is talking about it, we will soon be putting it out.”

Opponents Stevenage have gatecrashed the League One play-offs on the back of a 14-game unbeaten sequence which also included victories in four of their last five fixtures.

The Blades, meanwhile, only dropped out of the top two when failing to beat Stevenage in the penultimate league game of the season. Their tally of 90 points would have guaranteed promotion to the Championship in nine of the previous 10 seasons.

Despite the inevitable sense of disappointment, Doyle has vowed that the Blades will avoid a play-off hangover.

“It will be hard if we want to feel sorry for ourselves or dwell on what has gone on in the past,” he said. “It was a big disappointment, to be honest, but the fortunate thing is we now have an opportunity to put things right and get in the Championship via the play-offs.

“We have been desperate for promotion all season and I think we have showed that in the way we have gone about trying to win every game.

“This is not something we should be afraid of. We can’t be thinking we have messed it up or fell down into this and shouldn’t be here.

“This is where we are and this is where we should be, I suppose, and we are going to have to make do.”

Although, mathematically, the door to automatic promotion was still open last weekend, Doyle knows that the Blades blew it seven days earlier when drawing 2-2 at home to Stevenage.

Had they won that game, they would still have been ahead of Wednesday going into the final weekend’s fixtures.

The draw, however, left the Blades relying on Wednesday to slip up against relegated Wycombe Wanderers – a result that failed to materialise.

“Our real disappointment was the weekend before against Stevenage,” Doyle recalled. “We knew that was an opportunity missed. Although it hurts me to say it, congratulations to Sheffield Wednesday. They deserve it.

“We had a great crack at it and we just fell short. To get 90 points and not get promoted just shows you the standard.

“But the atmosphere in training this week has been good. The disappointment of the Stevenage game has gone. We are more than confident in our dressing room, we have justified that all season, and there is no reason why that should change.”

Stevenage are chasing a third consecutive promotion after rising from the Blue Square Premier League in 2010. Manager Gary Smith took charge less than four months ago after quitting Major League side Colorado Rapids when Graham Westley moved to Preston North End.

Doyle says Smith’s arrival has resulted in Stevenage playing better football and was impressed by their performance in both meetings this season.

“They are a really good side and they have had some brilliant results all season,” said Doyle. “They are a very strong, physical side but they can work it as well.

“At the start of the season, when we played them down there, we were a bit in transition and didn’t yet have a settled side. At halftime we could have been a couple of goals up and we were unfortunate to lose. They were very phsyical and direct down there but I noticed they were a lot different when they came back up here and played a lot more football.

“Without being disrespectful to their previous manager, they looked a more ‘all-round’ side. There was more flair and the boy (Luke) Freeman was very good. I wouldn’t say they are long ball, they like to play football. They are very good at what they do and I have so much respect for them.

“They have had a really strong end to the season and won a lot of games, scoring a lot of goals. We know they are going to have a go at us and try to get goals and it will be a tough game.”

The Blades have yet to win in three games since the imprisonment of 35-goal leading marksman Ched Evans for rape but Doyle does not regard the scandal as an excuse for those results.

“It was disappointing to lose that amount of goals but we have lost a lot of massive players from the squad this season – Lescinel Jean-Francois, Marcus Williams and now (suspended) James Beattie.

“We are going to have to dig deep but we have got enough character here to do that and I’m sure we will show that,” he said.

“I have never played in the play-offs – and you would rather go up automatically – but they are fantastic for the fans. I am definitely looking forward to it. You see the play-offs every year on TV and they are always end-to-end, proper cup football. We have two massive games against a really good side and, only if we beat them, can we talk about Wembley.”

The second leg against Stevenage is at Bramall Lane on Monday night.