HIS was the first head to poke above the parapet.

Simon Grayson had predicted social media silence in the wake of City’s dismal day at Blackpool.

But Colin Doyle felt somebody had to hold their hand up publicly.

“You’ve got to do it,” he said. “There’s no point in just tweeting when it’s a good day, you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth.

“The game has changed now with Twitter, Instagram and all that. It’s a way of fans interacting with players.

“We knew we weren’t good enough. The fans had paid hard-earned money and it had probably spoilt their weekend as well.

“It’s Blackpool, so they are probably making a weekend of it and bringing the kids.

“I know it wasn’t seaside weather but they would have been staying overnight, watching the game and then doing something the next day. We ruined that for them.”

As a proud family man, it was no surprise that the big keeper should be so willing to come clean.

And in a season when fingers have been pointed around the squad amid City’s sudden demise, he is one whose commitment cannot be questioned.

That was summed up when he flew straight back from Turkey to face Gillingham less than 24 hours after playing for the Republic of Ireland.

A few more in the Valley Parade dressing room should have taken a leaf out of his book during the troubling early months of 2018.

The effort on show in Thursday’s goalless draw with Shrewsbury clawed back some pride and respectability after the capitulation last weekend.

But the demise from solid play-off contender to virtual mid-table also-ran remains a shock to the system.

Doyle admitted: “I’ve seen it happen to other teams – Coventry were flying two years ago and threw it away and Gillingham as well. But it’s a new experience for me.

“I’ve been in relegation scraps when you might stay up or not but you’re always in there or thereabouts.

“I’ve also been up in the play-offs with Bradford and Birmingham when we’ve stayed up there.

“But I’ve never had a season when we’ve been there come Christmas and then fallen away like this.

“Nobody expected it from us. We obviously got to the play-off final last year and started so well this season.

“Everyone thought it was a blip – it’s been a bloody long blip. We’ve got to try and turn it round somehow.”

How City’s fortunes have gone down the pan so dramatically remains a mystery for one of the few players to emerge from the recent wreckage with reputation intact.

“You go out in the street and mates are asking what’s happening. It’s hard to explain.

“If we knew, we’d change it in a heartbeat. We’re not doing anything different.

“Confidence is lacking but we beat Gillingham and you’re thinking ‘let’s go’. Then we go and lose the next two.

“You obviously win some and lose some in football but it’s so frustrating from where we’ve come from to where we are now.”

The conspiracy theories linger at how City’s results could implode so dramatically since the turn of the year. Stuart McCall’s sacking, recruitment in the January window and the influence of chairman Edin Rahic on the playing side have all been cited as factors.

But Doyle does not buy the ready-made excuses for a run of just one win in 15 games.

“We can’t affect whatever is going on behind the scenes.

“Obviously Stuart left and Simon (Grayson) came in. That decision was down to the owners.

“We’re happy with training being short and sharp. But for some reason, as with Stuart towards the end, we aren’t picking up results.

“You can’t let anything else affect your day-to-day training. You’ve just got to get on with working as hard as we can.

“You’re not paid to interfere with whatever might be going on elsewhere or the running of the club.

“It’s easy to say something must have happened in January because that’s when we started losing. But we haven’t been picking up results.

“They give you the mood for what it’s going to be like the rest of the week. Fans and players like getting wins.

“The first taste of a win against Gillingham was unbelievable. Everybody was high-fiving in the changing room and we were buzzing.

“Then you go in the changing room after losing 5-0 two weeks later and it is just silent. It’s hard to take.”