Kevin Doyle urged to stay put at Wolves

Republic of Ireland under-21 international Doherty bagged the 85th-minute winner in Saturday's 2-1 victory at Bristol City.

That continued Wolves' unbeaten start and left them third in League One but all the talk was on the Man of the Match performance of Doyle.

He was involved in both goals and led the line superbly, and Bakary Sako, who scored the first goal and made the second.

Doyle has been linked with a move away from Molineux all summer because his estimated £40,000-a-week wages are such a drain on resources with the club tightening its belt in the third tier.

But Doherty thinks the 29-year-old would be very difficult to replace.

He said: "If he left, we would probably have to get two strikers because he's that good – it's not just his hold-up play, but he's good on the ball and he can go past people, everything really.

"I don't think we'll get a striker as good as him who will come to League One.

"We'd love to keep him but he's got ambitions and he's maybe too good for this league so I'm not sure if the club can keep him.

"He wants to play as high as he can so I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to play somewhere higher.

"But I also wouldn't be surprised if he stayed and tried to get us up.

"He's happy here – he's moved into a house in Sutton Coldfield, he's comfortable and we're happy to have him."

Doherty believes Doyle may be playing for a move away.

"He wants the move so he has to perform and I wouldn't be surprised if teams came in for him," said the right-back.

Wolves boss Kenny Jackett today praised Wolves' character after they regained control to see off City.

Victory was only possible after they weathered City's storm in the early part of the second period following a thoroughly dominant first half from Wolves.

Jackett said: "Character is a big factor as well as technique, and to come through in a game which could have gone either way is a very good achievement.

"It became a big test of character for our players to make sure we came through it and we did.

"Sometimes it's not just about technique, it's about heart as well."

Jackett added: "After the mistake, we stopped passing the ball for 10 or 15 minutes which has been our strength so far this season, and we lost a bit of confidence.

"We shouldn't do that just because of one setback – if we can play proper football, we can achieve a lot.

"We can't lose confidence and stop making the right pass or not look for the ball.

"But it was a fantastic win for us. That's seven points out of nine and two of those games were away from home."

Jackett insisted it's too early to be getting carried away, saying: "A start is 10 games, not three – that gives you a good idea.

Meanwhile, Wolves managed to prise Kevin McDonald out of Sheffield United for a cut-price £250,000, it emerged today.

Sources in south Yorkshire revealed that the release clause activated by Wolves was just £250,000 for the highly-rated midfielder.

It had been thought the club had splashed out £750,000 for the former Burnley player.