Coppell: Doyle will come good

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The Republic of Ireland international goes into Saturday's home game with Blackburn looking for his first goal since a strike against Liverpool on December 8.

Coppell said: "I haven't spoken with him about it and his performances don't look as though they are being affected by it."

He added: "He is missing chances, which is always a great sign as if he wasn't getting those opportunities you would question him more.

"His contribution to the team is still significant and I'm confident he will score goals. He is a natural goal-scorer and an asset to the squad."

Doyle's 19 goals in 2005/6 helped propel Reading into the top flight for the first time in their history and he continued to excel as Coppell's side finished that debut season in eighth, but Coppell was unsurprised those high standards have proved hard to maintain.

He said: "He is still progressing but inevitably that is never in a straight line. His rate of progress early on was so rapid it was inevitable at some stage there would be a plateauing out but I still feel he is on an upward curve.

"Other teams know more about him now. Inevitably, when players come through English football there is a knowledge through the academies of what they can do and can't do.

"He came straight from nowhere and physically he was right up to speed and stronger than most defenders. He had that element of surprise for some time but is now under the microscope of the Premier League, where everything is analysed in slow motion and people learn about you.

"You have to have a strong mentality to be able to suddenly change what you do and be a surprise on a constant basis. And I believe he can. He is bright as a button, intelligent and knows what he is doing."