COLIN Doyle is poised to return to City’s goal tonight with a ringing endorsement from his manager.

Graham Alexander has been running the rule over different keepers in training as he looks to the future.

But he is more than happy for now with goalkeeping coach Doyle continuing in the dual role as Sam Walker’s back-up.

The 39-year-old played six times in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy last season as City reached the semi-finals.

And he is expected to be between the posts again for their group opener against Newcastle under-21s at Valley Parade.

“We’ve had a few goalkeepers in on trial since pre-season,” said Alexander.

“It’s something we have to look at for the future because no disrespect to Doyler but he can’t go on forever.

“But he’s come back in great shape from the summer. He’s in better shape than he was last season in his body condition.

“His motivation is still there to play and to compete, which is great. He trains with us every single day.

“I was fully confident when he played for us last season that there wasn’t going to be a difference in the performance of the team defensively.

“I haven’t seen any drop-off this season in his training.

“He’s got a good chance of playing but we still have to continue to look towards the future. That will never stop.

“If he plays, I’m sure he will be as good as he was last season.

“He would have played those games anyway. I saw the first game he played for us that we had a really good goalkeeper as a number two, so he deserved to play as much as anybody else.”

City decided against recruiting another keeper during the summer transfer window and will continue to have a look at free-agent stoppers.

Alexander added: “We don’t want to sign anybody just to say we’ve got somebody there. They have to be a certain level and we need to trust them.

“The goalkeeping position is so important to the mindset of your team.

“If you’re playing in front of a keeper you’re not sure about it takes a little bit off the rest of your game.

“You’ve got to have the confidence to look behind and think, ‘yeah he’s fine’.

“I think we have that with our goalkeepers at the moment. I want to sustain that and maintain it for the future.

“With the ones we’re looking at, it’s not just are they good but are they better than the two senior goalkeepers we’ve got – and up to now we haven’t found that keeper.”

The young Magpies will offer a different challenge for City, who saw off Manchester City and Liverpool under-21 sides last season.

“There are a lot of individuals in their team that we won’t know much about,” said Alexander. “They can play whoever they want in that team as well.

“We’ll know their shape and their style and how they play. A lot of (under-21) teams at Premier League level do try to mirror the senior side.

“But I’m really focused on my team’s performance. We’ve got a few new players that will probably take part so it will be good for them to get their first taste of Valley Parade football and the tactics we want.”