Coventry City handed Leeds United a real promotion boost in League One: View | OneFootball

The 2008/09 season ended in agonising circumstances for those of a Leeds United persuasion.

In what was their second season in League One following relegation from the Championship, the Whites claimed a fourth place finish in the final regular season standings.

That set them up for a shot at promotion back to the Championship via the play-offs, starting with a semi-final against Millwall.

However, a 2-1 aggregate defeat to the Lions condemned Leeds to a third straight season in League One, with Jermaine Beckford having missed a potentially vital penalty in the second leg of that semi-final.

That came after the 2007/08 campaign had also ended in play-off heartbreak, with a defeat to Doncaster Rovers in the final, further enhancing the pressure on the club to go one better the following campaign.

As a result, several new signings would be brought to Elland Road in the summer of 2009, in an attempt to do just that.

Michael Doyle was a summer 2009 signing for Leeds United

Among those who made the move to Yorkshire during that 2009 summer transfer window, was Michael Doyle.

The midfielder joined Leeds on a season-long loan from Coventry City, where he had spent the last six seasons playing Championship football.

Given he had been a regular feature for the Sky Blues in the second-tier throughout his time there prior to this move, it did seem a smart signing for Leeds as they looked to get back to that level.

Indeed, that was exactly the way that things would ultimately work out for Doyle, during his time with the Elland Road club.

Coventry loanee was a big hit at Elland Road

Having made that move to Yorkshire, Doyle instantly went into manager Simon Grayson's starting lineup for an opening day win over Exeter City.

From there, the midfielder hardly looked back during his time at Elland Road, becoming something of a mainstay during his time at Leeds.

In total, Doyle featured in 42 of the 46 league games that the Whites played across the course of that campaign, often in the starting lineup, in the first half of the season in particular.

Indeed, it is perhaps indicative of how important he became to that Leeds side, that despite only being on-loan, it was other midfielders such as Neil Kilkenny or Jonathan Howson who might be rotated to partner Doyle in the centre of the park.

As a result, the Irishman's contributions would evidently prove vital for the Whites, as this time round they did indeed secure their promotion back to the Championship.

That came courtesy of a second place finish in the League One table during that 2009/10 season, which also ensured they involved the lottery of the play-offs that had cost them in each of the two previous seasons.

Doyle also helped deliver some other memorable moments for Leeds that season, most notably playing the full 90 minutes of the famous FA Cup win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Indeed, throughout the campaign, the midfielder also expressed his desire to make his loan move to Leeds permanent at the end of the season.

That passion and commitment to the club is something that will surely have been appreciated immensely by the Elland Road faithful, and reciprocated given the impact he made that season.

Beyond that, seeing that sort of determination from a loan player, is something that may well have helped to motivate and lift his teammates at Leeds, as the club managed to get themselves over the line in the race for automatic promotion.

As a result, while there would ultimately be no permanent move back to Elland Road for Doyle, the work he did during the 2009/10 season in helping the club bring an end to their first, and so far only spell in the third-tier of English football, means the midfielder will always be well regarded among those connected with Leeds United after a couple of seasons of real hurt.