Sheffield United’s Doyle ready to rumble

The Blades dropped to third in the table after losing to Charlton Athletic at the weekend and now have 19 games to secure one of the two automatic promotion spots.

“This is just the beginning of the season, this is where it all starts,” said Doyle, whose side are involved in FA Cup fourth round action this weekend against Birmingham City at Bramall Lane.

“It is the time when you want to be in a position to kick on and win the league and that’s what we are going to try and do.

“We are well able to cut it with all the other teams in this divison and we are going to show that for the rest of the season because we have got to go these places and get results.

“Although we were disappointed with the result at Charlton, we will take a lot from the performance,” he added. “They were well organised and made it hard for us to break them down, but we felt we were the only team trying to win the game. From start to finish, we tried to get on the ball and play and do the right things and that’s what has taken us to where we are now.”

The Blades will not be appealing against striker James Beattie’s red card at The Valley.

Beattie was sent off for violent conduct after grabbing Charlton striker Yann Kermorgant by the throat. He will now be banned for three games and his contract expires at the end of the month.