Hunt works to control fury

Daniel Taylortalks to the Reading and Ireland winger about the disappointments and rejections that have pockmarked his career and an unfair 'reputation'

There are generally two quite contrasting ways of looking at Republic of Ireland international Stephen Hunt. One is that Reading's tenacious little number 10 is doing his bit to help make wingers fashionable again. The other, as put forward by some at Chelsea, for example, is that the 26-year-old who grew up in Waterford (though he was born in Laois) is in danger of getting a bad name - that "tenacious" is just football-speak for being a spiky little bugger.

On one hand, there is plenty to admire about how Hunt has established himself in the Premier League when not so long ago he was struggling to interest a club that was about to drop into the Conference. On the other, an allegation has attached itself to Hunt that he can be a dangerous opponent in more ways than one. Hunt, it is claimed, likes to leave his foot in.

On the whole it is probably unfair, although it quickly becomes clear that Hunt does not get too hung up about it anyway. If pressed, he can cite his record of only seven yellow cards, and no red, in his 100 games for Reading. "My record's there for everyone to see," he says. But he also stresses he has been through far worse and, along the way, developed a thick skin - a legacy, perhaps, of the disappointments and rejections that have pockmarked his career.

At Crystal Palace, for example, when his first English club swapped managers and Alan Smith did not like the look of the skinny little kid on the left wing. "I'd won my first Republic of Ireland under-21 cap the previous night," Hunt recalls. "I flew into Gatwick, got a taxi to Palace's training ground and I was buzzing. Then Alan Smith said he wanted to see me and, bang, within 10 minutes I'd been released. I hated him for a long time after that."

Hunt has certainly had to take a long and complicated path to the top division and, in the process, there have been times when he wondered whether he would get there. "I needed a new club after Palace and there wasn't exactly a rush, so my agent sent me for a trial at Halifax. I didn't even know where Halifax was. I got the train and watched them play Mansfield to get a taste of what it was like. I can't pretend I was particularly excited. Then they sent me away, saying 'don't call us, we'll call you'. That was the last I heard of it."

David Moyes, then in charge of Preston North End, was the next manager to take a look and decide "thanks but no thanks". Then Cork City and a few other Irish clubs invited Hunt back home. "But I was too stubborn to stop thinking I would make it in England," he recalls.

Finally, he got another chance when Brentford offered him a contract, but even that had a sting in the tail. "Ron Noades was the chairman and the club said they would give me a certain amount every week - it was tiny - and pay for my digs. A few days later I went to sign my contract and they went, 'We're not paying for your digs now'. I had to accept it because there was nothing anywhere else."

Those were happy days, however. Or, at least, initially. Hunt made an immediate impact, helping Brentford reach the Second Division (now League One) play-offs in his first season and, the following year, scoring 10 goals. But for the next two seasons he was troubled by a groin problem. "I couldn't sprint, but the physio didn't believe I was injured. They treated me for all sorts of different things but, in the end, they decided it was all in my head. Martin Allen had come in as manager and he said, 'Listen, we don't need you here any more'. I thought, 'F*** you then - I've been trying to play through an injury for you for the last two years'."

Two-and-a-half years on, it still aggrieves him. "My career was fouled up for two years."

Rejection has been a recurring theme, but the one manager who has consistently believed in him knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a good winger. It was Steve Coppell who invited Hunt to leave Ireland after Crystal Palace's scouts spotted him playing in the same Waterford side as John O'Shea. Coppell, again, signed him at Brentford and, after joining Reading, gazumped Bradford City in June 2005 to become his manager for a third time.

"He's probably been the only manager who has always believed in me," says Hunt. "It's nice to know that someone has had faith in me even when nobody else did. But he would admit that he tried to sign a couple of players ahead of me. I flew into Leeds-Bradford airport and they had a contract for me, plus a jersey so the local press could get a photo. I got off the plane and I had a message. 'It's Steve Coppell here, ring me back immediately'. I had to go outside and tell all the people from Bradford. It wasn't an easy conversation."

Hunt has since become an integral part of the Reading success story even if he seems destined to be forever associated with the challenge on Petr Cech that left Chelsea's goalkeeper with a fractured skull. Most observers outside Stamford Bridge have long since concluded that it was a 50-50 challenge, although Hunt did lose some of the benefit of the doubt when he buried his studs into Gelson Fernandes's knee at Manchester City two Saturdays ago.

Coppell has described his player's technique as "controlled fury", but Hunt knows he owes his opponent an apology: "That wasn't controlled. It was a bad tackle and I fully deserved the criticism I got on Match of the Day. I wasn't happy with myself either. I do play with controlled fury 99 per cent of the time, but that one per cent stands out."

As for Cech, the two of them have discussed it in private and decided that neither of them should talk about the incident ever again. "I won't speak about that," says Hunt.

But he does resist the allegation that he is a sly player. "I close down, but I generally don't go to ground when I tackle. I should have been sent off (against City). Overall, however, my disciplinary record is good."

He would much rather talk about Liverpool, Reading's opponents today, or his younger brother's emerging reputation in Scotland. Noel is Dundee United's leading scorer and Hunt recalls playing outside "with the garage as one goal and the gate the other". In those days Hunt was a Liverpool supporter, so he has an extra incentive to do well today.

"I used to pretend I was John Barnes," he recalls. "I had more energy than him, but maybe half the talent - I think I would have preferred it the other way around."