Sheffield United: Why Tommy Doyle is backing Man City teammate James McAtee to bounce back after Luton blow

McAtee was handed only a second Championship start in place of the injured John Fleck at Kenilworth Road, but failed to reappear for the second half after a tough first at one of the division’s toughest places to shine.

Paul Heckingbottom, the United manager, admitted afterwards that McAtee would feel “shocking” after being substituted at half-time, before reminding the teenager that no loanees will receive preferential treatment at United this season.

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And Doyle, who replaced his fellow City youngster at Kenilworth Road and helped United return to South Yorkshire with a hard-earned point, said ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Reading at Bramall Lane: “It's not easy, but it's a big learning curve for him.

“He's obviously a fantastic footballer. Me and him have played many games together in City's academy and he's a brilliant player and a great lad.

“I think games like that will teach you things more than anything, and he'll be fine. I know him very well, he'll be fine. He'll dust himself off and be ready to go again. He'll be fine.”

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Doyle, who has experienced senior football before through loans at Hamburg and Cardiff City, is in line to start against Reading after Fleck was ruled out for “months”, in Heckingbottom’s words, following his leg break.

“Being at Man City, in the academy, you're controlling a lot of the game with 80 or 90 per cent possession,” Doyle, asked to explain the differences between U23s football at City and Championship combat, added.

“Some games, like Luton, it can be made quite difficult for you and you've got to be a little bit more defensive than you'd like to be, and roll up your sleeves and fight.

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“We obviously did that brilliantly. It's something I'm still learning, and obviously Macca will learn as the games progress and as they go on, he'll notice that.

“It was a bit of a scrappy game and we had to stick together, roll up our sleeves and fight for the point.”

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