The Irishman joined his fellow international team mates in reporting for pre-season on Monday, when they linked up with the rest of the squad for a week of training at the FA’s base. Having been selected for Ireland’s June fixtures, Doherty had a shorter break, but is already raring to go ahead of his first trip to China and taste of European football later this month.
On being back
“I’m pleased to be back. The longer I’m off, the worse shape I’ll be in, so three weeks was about right. I had a couple of holidays and was back in for testing on Monday.
“Everybody’s back and looks fit and ready. Our season starts a bit earlier with the Europa League, but we’ll definitely be ready.”
On training at St George’s Park
“The set-up is really nice, you can’t complain, you have everything and it is state of the art. We’ll get a lot out of this week. It took me 20 minutes to get here, so it’s ideal.”
On a shorter break
“You get less time off (playing internationally), but I don’t mind it. When I’m training, I’m staying fit and in shape. When I do have the three weeks off I can enjoy myself because I’ve already been training.
“It doesn’t change much, you get less time off, and sometimes it can be frustrating seeing people away, but it’s worth it because you’re there to represent your country.”
On the trip to China
“I’m looking forward to when we get there and when we land, I’m not looking forward to the flights. A few of us aren’t that keen on flying, but it’s something we have to do, you can’t get there without getting on a plane.
“Once we’re there they will be a good couple of games. It’s a nice competition we’re in and most of us have never been to China, so it’s something we can experience, where our owners have come from and the set-up they have there.
“We have two seriously competitive games before we go into the Europa League games, so we’ll definitely be ready by then.”
