FAN-FAVOURITE Michael Doyle admits he is emotional at the very thought of having played his last game for Alloa Athletic.

The popular defender left the club last weekend to go off in search of his full time dream as he heads to Ireland for a trial with Cork City and he is sad to have left his ‘family’ behind.

The ex-Celtic trainee, who has played more thanover 180 games for the Wee County outfit in a five-year stint, is determined to grab his chance of getting back to full time football.

Doyle told Advertiser sport: “Nothing in set in stone in Ireland and I am certainly not fed up at Alloa or anything. I love the club, but there is no point in being in football if you don’t want to push yourself to get to the highest level possible.

"If this is the end of my Alloa career, then I will always come back and support the club when I can and keep in touch with all the fans too. They have been a big part of my life for the past five years and we have shared memories that will last forever.

"I feel like they are part of my family and so it is quite emotional to think that this is the end of my time there. The situation at the start of the month was a tough one because my contract was up on the Saturday, but no one had told the manager that my contract was up early. It is not something that is the norm at a part time club, but because of my love for the club and loyalty to the manager I agreed to stay on for a few games to give him a chance to replace me.

"The move to Cork City has cropped up since then and with their season not starting until March it gives me a chance to go there and impress. The boys have been slagging me saying that if I come back again I may as well sign a life time contract with the club if I don’t leave now, but this is a chance that is too good to turn down. You have to take chances in life so this is me taking my shot to get back to full time football. 

"This was a big chance of full time football for me and it was one I just couldn’t turn down. Everyone knows that is my dream and I am not getting any younger so I felt like if I didn’t go and at least give it a go then I would regret it. It is there pre-season at the moment so it is a good time for me to go there and hopefully I can do enough to earn myself a contract there.”

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The Wasps legend was gutted not to end his spell in Clackmannanshire with a win over St Mirren last weekend, but he hopes the rest of the squad will take the positives from such a good performance and he has no doubt that they can still escape the drop zone at the foot of the SPFL Championship without him.

He said: “I was disappointed in that sense that we couldn’t end with a win because it was looking that way for spells of the match, but it just wasn’t to be. If you look at the last month or so you can see there has been a clear improvement in our performances and I know it is only a matter of time before we start getting results and climbing up the table. I have no doubt the boys can go on and fight their way out of the relegation zone.

"The final St Mirren goal comes because we took the decision to go for it and it is that kind of character that I think will be key to keeping us up. We pinned a good side like St Mirren back into their own half for the final half an hour of the game and so hopefully the boys take confidence from that and kick on in my absence.”

The 24-year-old defender hopes the fans will stand by manager Jack Ross because he believes him to be the man to guide the club to yet another great escape in the remainder of the season.

Doyle added: “There is no need for the fans to panic. Obviously, to lose myself and Scott McKenna will be a blow, but the likes of Jason Marr can come back into the fray and he is a top quality player who can win the club games on his own.

"The arrival of Mitch Megginson is also a quality addition from the manager and he is someone who can provide the team with that extra spark in games. The gaffer knows exactly what he is doing and hopefully everything can just fall into place now. I will certainly be supporting them from afar, but I fully expect him to guide them to safety.”