EMMET MALONEfinds the Wolves winger determined to accentuate the positive and embrace the European Championships experience
WHAT WITH injuries, his club being relegated and the emergence of a popular new rival for a place in the Ireland team, Stephen Hunt could be forgiven for feeling the last six months have not been especially kind to him.
After training yesterday, indeed, the 30-year-old seemed a bit weary of acknowledging it all and preferred to focus on the opportunity these European Championship will provide to put a difficult campaign behind him as well, perhaps, as attracting offers of a brighter future.
James McClean, of course, is here but crucially, not at the expense of the former Reading and Hull City player. At one stage it seemed as though the Sunderland winger might be heading for Poland instead of Hunt and the normally good-humoured Waterford man appears to have taken the newspaper speculation from a couple of months back rather badly.
“Luckily enough, my brain is not media-trained,” he replied when asked about the new arrival, having previously managed to remain a little more diplomatic when the subject came up. “If it was then I would probably be sitting at home slippers on and relaxing but I am here now and looking to do well.
“It’s just the way it is, isn’t it?” he continued. “If you read certain things about yourself then you would be retired long ago, so I am glad that I am here. I am excited to be here and the competition is healthy and I am looking forward to it.”
To suggest Hunt’s season has not been the equal of McClean’s scarcely seems like the starting point for a major controversy but it is still easy to imagine how a player who featured in the last seven games of the qualifying campaign, though mainly from the bench, could feel hurt by the eagerness of so many commentators to have the younger man promoted over him.
At a more measured moment, though, he insists that all is well between the players themselves and says that those who start – almost certainly Damien Duff and Aiden McGeady – if everyone is fit – will have the support of their rivals regardless.
“There is a good edge everywhere,” he says. “There are two players for every position and it is highly competitive on the wings.
“It is a good situation for Ireland to have and will keep me on my toes and bring the best out of Duffer, James and Aido and me. Whoever is in the starting 11 will get the backing of everyone else. That is the way the team is built. It is a team game.”
Hunt is the only one of the three whose club career might be said to be obviously uncertain just now, however, and so the stakes for him could be particularly high, with some big performances over the weeks ahead potentially paving the way to a swift Premier League return.
The player insists he is focused on the tournament for its own sake and plays down talk of a departure from Wolves. Clearly there are a lot of variables to weigh up and he has not, he admits, even talked to new manager Stale Solbakken.
“Listen, I’ve got a year left on my contract,” he says, “and I’ve been in this position before and so I’m not going to say anything, just get my head down and work hard. If I’m at Wolves again next year then I’ll give 110 per cent because I might owe them a little bit as well in terms of the injuries.
“To a certain degree they’ve stuck by me,” he adds less than wholeheartedly before adding: “they haven’t played me in certain games . . . (but) I’m loyal to Wolves, I like the area and get on well with the team. To be honest, I’m here for Ireland and just want to get on with it.”
When Solbakken is then mentioned he describes the appointment as “irrelevant” just now. “Once I get back in preseason, then I’ll work hard to show what I can do. Every player wants to impress a new manager. It’s been a bit disappointing at Wolves lately but like I say, I’m here with Ireland now for the European Championships and I can’t wait.”
