Reading striker Kevin Doyle reckons Steve Coppell was right to rest him at the weekend - but intends to be fighting fit for the visit of Wigan.
Doyle felt he benefited from the breather - and will come back all the better for it.
"The gaffer said there was no point flogging a dead horse and I have played too many minutes - and to be fair the international games were on two of the heaviest pitches I have played on," Doyle told the Reading Evening Post .
"He thought it was pointless taking me up to Sunderland when I looked shattered.
"I wanted to go and I told him, but he made his decision.
"Leroy Lita and Dave Kitson had been here all week and prepared properly and Shane Long was fresh.
"If I was the manager I would think along the same lines.
"As a player I wanted to play, but it probably was the right decision. I certainly hope it is."
