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Kevin Doyle would go and watch Shamrock Rovers every week after taking in the Tallaght side's dominant 3-1 victory over Cork City at the weekend.

Doyle was on punditry duty for RTE at Turner's Cross on Friday night to witness Stephen Bradley's side pick apart the Rebels.

Rovers strengthened their advantage at the top of the table to eight points after goals from Sean Kavanagh and an Aaron McEneff brace sealed the win.

And while he briefly singled out his cousin Greg Bolger for praise, the former Cork City striker quickly applauded the entire Rovers squad for their efforts so far.

Speaking at the launch of the Aviva Stadium Tours, Doyle said: "From goalie to centre forward, I thought they were [excellent].

(Image: ©INPHO/James Crombie)

"The goals were excellent. The second one was a bit of a deflection, but the build-up to it and the skill to get in the position to shoot. I'm a bit biased -- Greg Bolger's a relation of mine.

"But obviously I was doing my research for it and I was looking at their previous games. I saw him last season against Waterford and I didn't think he played that well -- he looked too conservative, whereas I thought he was better [the other night]. He seems to take more part in the general play, he set up the first goal. He was defensive midfield, but getting forward across the whole pitch.

"It's hard for other teams to deal with that -- they're not used to a holding midfielder getting in that position, so I thought he was really good.

"They were all really good. Jack Byrne was very good. We didn't get around to it in studio but his pass took out half of the Cork team. It was a nice little blind pass.

"Then at the back, it was quiet during the game, Rovers were 3-1 up and we could hear everything, the back four were shouting, organising. Joey O'Brien is a really good addition there for his experience if he can stay fit but just listening to them talk and how they dealt with everything was really impressive."

The former Republic of Ireland striker also praised the contribution of manager Bradley after the ex-Rovers midfield man came under a lot of pressure last year.

Bradley has faced previous calls for his head due to perceived underachievement with the squad and a poor record against city rivals Bohemians.

But Doyle got the inside track from Damien Duff, who was working at Rovers with their under-15s at the time, and letting go of Bradley was something the club never considered.

And Doyle considers the Hoops to be the 'model' club in the league at the moment.

Doyle recalls: "Last season I asked Damien Duff we were doing a game in RTE and I said 'what's the story? You're there is he going to be the manager? Are they going to keep him?'

"And he was like 'yep, he's got it the way he wants it, wait and see, he's really good,' Damien was very enthusiastic about him and he's been right so far."

"They were really brave, I think that was a fantastic decision from Stephen Bradley to play that game against Finn Harps when they could have got it called off.

"It shows the trust he has in his squad and for the players that haven't played at least he's not calling off because they are missing a player or two he believes they can go and do a job so that's a big statement to make and a big result to get.

"All round it's been a rosy start. Things will dip a little but so far it's been great.

"That's the model for the League of Ireland. Good fresh, young players all playing football, doing it really well with a good stadium and a good crowd.

"They haven't spent fortunes but they have a good budget. I would go and watch that every week. Everyone would want to go and watch that every week and be proud of their team seeing them play like that from start to finish.

"If they can play like that then fair dues to them. Stephen Bradley as well for Rovers to stick with him, because he went through a sticky patch and they gave him loads of time to get it the way he wanted it."

Irish football international Kevin Doyle today launched the new Aviva Stadium Tour which provides fans with a unique behind the scenes experience of Ireland’s primary international sports’ Stadium. Visitors to the new tour can delve into Ireland’s international sporting heritage while also experiencing first-hand what match day is like for our international football and rugby players.