Hunt gets behind Long shot

WITH a line already drawn through Kevin Doyle’s name, Giovanni Trapattoni must have winced even more than Robbie Keane when the Ireland captain went down under Damien Delaney’s tackle in Malahide yesterday.

That said, it could have been worse. Keane might have been ruled out there and then, for example, and if the Italian was ever going to face a crucial qualifier without either of his two first-choice strikers then now would be as good a time as any.

Why? Two words, basically. Shane Long.

The one-time hurler from Tipperary has scored 28 times in 58 appearances for club and country this season, although that still wasn’t enough to prevent Reading from losing last Monday’s Championship play-off final to Swansea City.

Long was utterly dejected by the result but the reality is that he will almost certainly be playing top flight football anyway next season. Storied clubs such as Liverpool, Celtic, Everton and Newcastle are all said to be chasing the prolific hitman.

Stephen Hunt, who played with Long at Reading, can see why.

“I could see him fitting in all right,” said the Wolves midfielder. “He has all the attributes to be Kevin Doyle. He is even playing like him. From day one, he has always looked up to Kevin, always tried to emulate him. They share rooms, shared a flat. To be linked with a big club is no problem to Longy. He can only get better. If you don’t have aggression, then forget about it.

“Strikers are technically unbelievable. The boy at Liverpool (Luis Suarez) looks good on the ball. Longy is not that. He’ll hold the ball up, he’ll be aggressive and he’ll score goals.

“If he went to a club like Liverpool, he won’t start flicking the ball around. Kenny Dalglish or whoever will be experienced to know the qualities Longy has and what he can do.”

Hunt could just as easily have been talking about himself. He is robust, no-nonsense, an honest grafter and, like Long, he will have travelled to Macedonia yesterday contemplating his chances of securing a more regular spot in Trapattoni’s 11.

The omens are good. Hunt enjoyed a long stint in the team for the last World Cup qualifiers and enjoyed some of his best days on the road in that campaign before injury stalled his progress with both club and country.

Frustrating wouldn’t be the word for a period on the sidelines that began in February of last year when he suffered the injury whilst playing for Hull City against his present employers. His sentence of inactivity only ended in late October.

“Since the foot injury against Wolves, it led on to the calf and then I broke my balls to get back in after two weeks when I had a tear. That was a seven-week injury so I ended up being nearly two-and-a-half months with that.

“That led to a hernia and that ended up with a short-term impact which was the only chance I had of getting something out of the season and luckily I got in and did something in the last three or four games.”

That he did.

Mick McCarthy had shown admirable patience during his new signing’s convalescence and a similar amount of confidence on his return when he picked him ahead of England international Matt Jarvis.

It worked out well for both Irishmen. Wolves stayed up on the last day of the season, McCarthy kept his job (if not his hair) and Hunt avoided his third taste of relegation in four years, after earlier experiences with Reading and Hull.

So it is that he reported to the Ireland training camp last week refreshed, reinvigorated and reassured about his club future and eager to make his mark on Ireland’s European Championship group, a campaign which passed him by in more ways than one while he was out injured.

“Sometimes I didn’t even watch the games,” he admitted of the five qualifiers to date. “You want to switch off and think about other things, to be honest. Sometimes you don’t want to get too intense about it.”

Tomorrow night will not be one of those times.