Wolves Striker Kevin Doyle Believes Honesty Isn't Rewarded

Wolverhampton striker Kevin Doyle believes that his honesty in the box denied his side a penalty against Aston Villa on Saturday, but has insisted that he would do the same again in similar circumstances.

The Irishman was twice pulled back in the box by compatriot Richard Dunne in the third minute of Saturday's 1-1 draw at Molineux, with referee Peter Walton turning down protests that the striker was illegally impeded.

"They say try and stay on your feet and if you are fouled, you are fouled," the striker told the Birmingham Mail.

"Just trying to stay on your feet shouldn't alter that."

Doyle, who has scored three times in nine Premier League appearances following a summer move from Reading, suggested that honest strikers have a tougher task to win penalties than their more Machiavellian counterparts, but insisted that such ways weren't for him.

"If you go down too easily, you get criticised for that so I tried to stay up and he stopped me from scoring, but the ref was having none of it."

Having had other penalty claims turned down against Sunderland and Portsmouth, Doyle went on to suggest that small and newly promoted sides get a rough ride when it comes to the big decisions.

"Is it harder for teams who are promoted to get penalties? I think so.

"Steve Coppell used to say it when I was at Reading.

"We were getting to the stage where we were thinking 'we don't even get them in training now!'"

Wolves went on to receive a penalty after a reckless Steve Sidwell challenge felled Michael Kightly in the area.

Doyle mused that perhaps a guilty conscience played on referee Walton's mind, such was the speed with which the man in black pointed to the spot.

"Probably the ref went in at half-time and found he should have given one to me at the start so when we looked like we should have got one in the second half, he gave it straight away."