Kevin Doyle has revealed how locking party animals out of his bedroom helped him become a Premier League star and Irish international.
The Wexford man was the original League of Ireland trailblazer having left Cork City for Reading and then Wolves.
And he scored 14 goals in 63 caps for the Boys in Green before the effects of concussion forced him to retire in September 2017.
But while Doyle claims there were more talented players in the League of Ireland than him, discipline helped him to the top.
“Stupid stuff, like avoiding a 21st birthday party or staying in the night before a game if the lads were going out,” he said.
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“I was a little bit more dedicated … or boring maybe. When I played in Cork, I lived on College Road.
“I had a great time because all my friends were in college there but I had to lock my bedroom door at night.
“They’d come back pissed at whatever time and carnage would be going on! That was a good test.”
Doyle was also kept on his toes by his old Cork City boss Pat Dolan who was forever spying on his players.
“There were numerous nights when there’d be a knock on the door at 12.30am and it was Pat and he'd come in and check my fridge randomly,” he laughed.
“I don't know if he was looking for stuff for himself or what. But he was very good for me. You'd be scared s***less down in Cork because he knew everything.
“He knew every bouncer, so that kept me on the straight and narrow. There were lads more skilful than me but I had perseverance.”
Jack Byrne is the latest League of Ireland ace to get Ireland recognition having been called up for the Gibraltar and Georgia qualifiers.
He remains uncapped but Doyle believes more domestic players will get call-ups with manager-in-waiting Stephen Kenny knowing the landscape so well.
“That breakthrough of someone getting in, starting and actually playing well has to happen at some stage,” he added.
“A couple of years ago, I was thinking, ‘we need a manager from the League of Ireland to become an Ireland manager’ - and that’s going to happen.”
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