15 MINUTES OF FLAME

Fire hero Doyle is desperate to put it behind him by hitting net to help Queens put out Dons

He’s already earned superhero status off the pitch.

Now, Michael Doyle wants to be revered for something he does on it.

The Queen of the South defender was hai led last summer af ter rescuing people from a hotel blaze while on holiday in Magaluf.

Doy le dodged f lames and exploding aerosol cans as he risked his life to save others.

The 27-year-old grabbed headlines for his bravery – and his pal even got a tribute tattoo.

But Doyle’s a footballer, not a firef ighter, and he is determined to extinguish Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup dream and be a Queens’ hero today.

In his time at Alloa and Morton, he went close to pulling off major cup shocks against the Dons.

But he’s hoping the Championship side can go one better this afternoon by knocking Derek McInnes’ side out.

If he was to bag a last-gasp winner in the Granite City, he’d at least be remembered for something other than his Spanish saviour act.

Doyle said: “I need to do something big in football so when people Google my name, that’s not the first thing that comes up.

“I’ll need to score a hat-trick or a last minute winner at Aberdeen on Sunday to change that.

“It wasn’t until I got home I thought to myself: ‘ What were you doing?’.

“That was my 15 minutes of fame. It was crazy.

“It was just instinct. I don’t know why I ran into a fire, I just did it. I just wanted to get those young boys out. There were no fire-fighters in sight. It was me and a guy from the bar who were dragging people out.

“I also had to get my pal out. He went in because he thought I was still in there. He got a tattoo after it. He got: ‘Not all heroes wear capes’.

“I’m daft enough to run into a fire – but not to get a tattoo on holiday!

“My girlfriend’s dad has been a firefighter for 30 years and he says it wasn’t a big deal.

“Maybe it wasn’t for him but it certainly was for me!

“I looked like a chimney sweep for about five hours after it and had no shoes. It was surreal.

“It was just one of those things. I don’t know what the boys would have done if we weren’t there.

“I played it all down at the time because I was still on holiday, I had a week in Magaluf to go but when I got home I realised it was probably a bigger deal.”

Doyle has his very own super-hero at Palmerston in the shape of prolific striker Stephen Dobbie.

The veteran has scored 37 goals in 31 games this season, including a Scottish Cup hat-trick against Dundee in the last round.

Doyle can’t believe Dobbie is playing at Palmerston and says it’s a measure of the former Swansea ace that he now tel ls young Queens defenders how to STOP him scoring.

Doyle said: “I still have a kick at Dobes all

the time in training. I like to pick him up. I’m playing against strikers in this league every week and I know that if I can play against Dobbie, there won’t be many better than him. “If you give him a yard in training, he takes it and sticks it in the net. “He actually tells you i f you’ve made a mistake against him. He’ll say to young boys, don’t let me go this way or that way. “That’s how good he is with the young players here. He’s not just scoring goals for fun, he’ll say to the defender: ‘Don’t let me turn like that’. “That shows his experience. But I still kick him to let him know I’m there. I don’t want him to score against me.

“If he does go down, you do think, who’s going to score for us now?

“He’s unbelievable, his stats are fantastic. It’s not a f luke either. Whether it’s at the training ground or after games, he’s out practising.

“I’m sure he’s had offers to step up a level but he’s obviously enjoying it here.

“I don’t care what age he is. If you’re scoring 37 goals in a season, any club, maybe outside of Rangers and Celtic, would be dying to have that.

“Certainly, someone of Dobes’ quality. I’ve asked him why he’s still here. We have a laugh about it – but he’s happy.

“And here at Queens, the team can be built around him.

“He’s been at a lot of clubs, at a higher level, getting paid more money – but not enjoying it. Every morning in here, he enjoys it. He probably knows he can get another year here, and another, and another.

“He wants to continue for as long as he can.”

With Dobbie’s help, Doyle hopes it’s third t ime lucky against Aberdeen for him in cup competitions today.

But having played with and against some of the Dons’ hitmen, he knows how tough it will be to make the last eight.

He said: “I don’t have a good record against them. Six years ago Alloa played them in the League Cup and only lost on penalties.

“We were gutted but that was a moral victory!

“Then with Morton we got to the semi-finals against them at Hampden which was a brilliant experience.

“We held them for 70 minutes but didn’t take our chances and lost.

“Aberdeen are a massive club but I honestly don’t think the gap is as big as people think between the Championship and Premiership. Our tie against Dundee was an example of that.

“But I’ve played against Greg Stewart when he was at Cowdenbeath and I’ve always rated him.

“I was with Stevie May when he was on loan at Alloa. He came in for 20 games and scored 22 goals.

“That’s the kind of quality we’ll be up against in this game.”

I looked like a chimney sweep. It was crazy