Reading boss Brian McDermott was among the guests at the wedding of Kevin Doyle held in Ireland this summer.

 

But it will be the Wolves striker hoping to turn party-pooper as he makes his first competitive return to the Madesjki Stadium for tonight's pre-season friendly against McDermott's Royals.

 

Although Wolves have managed to snap up three former Reading talents in the last 12 months, Doyle looks set to be the only one on show tonight (kick off 8pm) with Marcus Hahnemann unlikely to be risked having only just returned to training and Stephen Hunt still rehabilitating his foot injury.

 

And Wolves' joint record signing is certainly looking forward to returning to the club where he made his name, thanks in no small part to the efforts of McDermott.

 

"It will be my first time back at Reading and it will be nice to go back there," he says.

 

"There are still a couple of lads that I know well there and I know the manager and all the staff there.

 

"So there's some excitement about going back.

 

"Brian was the Chief Scout when I was there and he was the one who scouted me in Ireland with the Director of Football Nicky Hammond.

 

"They both scouted me before Steve Coppell came over to watch.

 

"It will be good to see Brian again - he was at my wedding during the summer as well and I get on very well with him.

 

"Brian has done a good job as manager and he had the reserves for a time and did very well with them too.

 

 

"He knows everything there is to know about football so it's no surprise to see how he's done but at the same time it's always a difficult job."

 

Reading have been upwardly mobile since McDermott enjoyed a switch in role to become permanent manager in January.

 

Prior to that last season hadn't been great, with the club struggling to cope with the loss of established players such as Doyle and Hahnemann.

 

"They had a bad four or five months maybe when a lot of players left and it wasn't easy with a lot of new and younger players coming in," Doyle reflects.

 

"That always takes time and then they changed manager as well with Brian taking over.

"He was a man that everyone at the club knew and he knew how the club worked and he nearly got them to the play-offs in the end.

 

"They will give us a good test.

"They'll be a week ahead of us in training because of when their league starts and will be fit and raring to go.

 

"It will be a good game and hopefully an enjoyable one."

 

Players returning to former clubs are not usually afforded good receptions, even sometimes during pre-season.

 

 

For Doyle the case may be different - he built up a good rapport with the Reading faithful over four years and played a big part in some hugely successful years for the club.

 

"Hopefully it will be a good reception," he says.

 

"I had a really enjoyable and successful four years at Reading and certainly more highs than lows.

 

"We got relegated while we were there but overall it was excellent.

 

"We got promoted to the Premier League and finished eighth in the Premier League.

 

"It made me as a footballer and gave me memories I will never forget.

 

"I loved every minute of it and I loved living in the area as well."

 

Doyle continued:  "I would hope people understand why I left.

 

"I tried my best to help the club back into the Premier League but it didn't happen.

"It was for football reasons I had to leave and I hope everyone understood that.

 

"I think the club were happy for me to go as well to help balance the books and it was all very amicable.

 

"They got a good fee for me and I think we were good for each other really and got the best out of each other.

 

"I had four great years, scored a lot of goals and had plenty of good times.

 

"They've got a good chance of getting up this season.

 

"They've got a great stadium and training ground and infrastructure and I'd enjoy it if they got promoted."

 

 

Doyle returns to Reading on the back of his first goal of pre-season, the opener in Saturday's friendly victory at Charleroi.

 

He admits pre-season is proving hard work as the players build up their fitness levels, but enjoyable hard work given his hernia operation of this time last year.

 

"Pre-season has been hard work again - it's tough but it's enjoyable and I'm starting to feel sharper for it," he says.

 

"The workload of running is now easing off a little bit as we look more towards the games.

 

"We had a good trip to Belgium and the same to Ireland and it's been an enjoyable pre-season so far.

 

"I haven't missed a day so far and have been niggle-free which is nice because I didn't really feature all last pre-season due to injuries.

 

"It will be nice to get a good one under my belt if I can and then show that on the pitch.

 

"To get a goal was nice even if it was a friendly.

"It's not massively important in pre-season and doesn't bother me too much but it's always good to get off the mark."