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Kevin Doyle on Aaron Connolly | 'Getting off social media - what's the point?'

Kevin Doyle believes that Aaron Connolly has done the wrong thing in deleting his social media an...



Soccer

Kevin Doyle on Aaron Connolly | 'Getting off social media - what's the point?'


Kevin Doyle believes that Aaron Connolly has done the wrong thing in deleting his social media and that criticism is the price that you pay as an elite footballer.

Connolly came in for criticism online after missing a good chance against Tottenham in the Seagulls' recent victory.

Aaron Connolly

"He has fantastic talent, I think he can be a really good player; second season is definitely the hardest. Last season is great - you get in the Ireland squad and everyone is telling you you're brilliant, and then the next season you have to go and do it, and live up to it.

"I watched his so-called 'bad miss' against last week and he actually does everything right. He makes great movement, gets into a good space, he doesn't scuff it.

"People were saying it's a terrible miss - he got great contact on it, did all the right things, but the defender managed to slide in and got a good block. I've seen and done worse misses myself.

"I don't think it should affect him - if it affects him, he is not going to have a long career as a professional."

Kevin Doyle on social media abuse

Connolly deleted his Twitter account after the match - a move that Doyle believes is a mistake.

"The getting off social media thing - what's the point? Turn your phone off for a few weeks. It's a big deal then and people make an even bigger deal out of it.

"Just forget about it - don't look at your social media if it affects you that much. If you're a professional sportsperson, you have to accept that you are going to get abuse, it is just the world we live in.

"You are going to get plenty of praise when you do play well, and plenty of abuse when you don't. If you're going to have a long career, don't be on social media.

"If you have a bad game, don't look it at for a week. Get it out of your system and your timeline.

"I think that by doing stuff like that [...] that is a sign of immaturity that you realise as you get a bit older."

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