Stephen Hunt carries no scars as he prepares for a 'revenge mission' to Nicosia, writes Mary Hannigan
UNLIKE SEVERAL of his Irish colleagues, most notably the six still in the squad who started the game in Nicosia three years ago – John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Kevin Kilbane, Aiden McGeady, Robbie Keane and Damien Duff – Stephen Hunt was fortunate not to have been part of the misery that was that 5-2 defeat, not making his senior debut until five months later. “I still haven’t seen it,” he smiled. “But I saw the goals, just not the whole game. But look, that was three years ago, it’s gone now, move on.”
There hadn’t yet, he said, been any talk from the Nicosia veterans about “revenge missions” or “settling scores”, but he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of those memories being used as a motivating factor later in the week as the squad prepare for Saturday’s World Cup qualifying game against Cyprus.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened, I know how much that night hurt the players and I’m sure they see Saturday partly as a way to put it right. But, again, it was three years ago, I don’t think we can dwell on it, it’s over.
“If we beat Cyprus then we can have a right go at Italy when they come to Dublin, it would give us a chance. And I do think we have to win our last three games if we are to have any chance of topping the group, I doubt draws will do now.
“We have to hope for an Italy slip-up, and who knows that might happen. But they always seem to do just enough to qualify – the important thing for us is to keep the pressure on them, not make it easy for them. If we’re still in it when they come to Dublin who knows? We’d have a right go at them, that’s for sure, and with a big crowd behind us you never know.”
The midfielder has now 21 caps to his name but he enjoyed few appearances as much as the one against Italy in Bari last April. “I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything, but I don’t doubt my ability, I know what I can do. But that night was a confidence booster, definitely, you believe in yourself more after a performance like that. But everyone did their job that night, the 1-1 was a great result, made us all believe in ourselves and believe that winning this group was possible.”
His confidence has been boosted too by the start he’s had at Hull City, who he joined last month from Reading for a reported €4 million fee, Hunt savouring his return to Premier League football after two seasons in the Championship. “Yeah, I had a good rest over the summer, I came back in to it revitalised, fresh, and when the move got sorted I was delighted. Having Killer (Kevin Kilbane) and Caleb (Folan) there made it easier for me to settle in, they’re two good friends, although I wasn’t expecting Paul McShane to arrive as well! So, yeah, there’s a fair sized Irish colony there now.
“Getting the two goals in my first two games was nice, but they both came in losses so didn’t really count for anything in the end. We had a tough start, against Chelsea and Spurs, but things have picked up since then (Hull have beaten Bolton and drawn with Wolves since).”
Being back in the Premier League will, he hopes, improve his prospects of a regular place in the starting line-up under Giovanni Trapattoni, but, he insists, the competition is intense. “And I’m not just up against Damien (Duff) and Aiden (McGeady), there’s Liam Lawrence too who’s playing regular Premier League football. But there’s competition all over – who’s going to play in the centre of midfield? Who’s going to play at right-back and left-back? It’s a strong squad, the manager has choices, so we all just have to get our heads down and work hard.
“But you back your team-mates even if they get in ahead of you, we’re all in this together, we all want to be going to the World Cup, that’s the dream.”
