Hunt still holding out hope for Euro 2012

NOEL HUNT has admitted that his two-year international exile has left him feeling “hard done by” but the Reading striker hasn’t given up hope of securing a place in the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2012 squad.

Hunt won the last of his three caps in a World Cup qualifier in October 2009, starting up front alongside Robbie Keane in a 0-0 draw with Montenegro at Croke Park. But the 27-year-old striker has since dropped down the pecking order, falling behind the likes of Jonathan Walters, Simon Cox and Leon Best.

After last week’s play-off victory over Estonia, Giovanni Trapattoni’s side will be one of the 16 nations to enter the December 2 draw for next summer’s tournament in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

Hunt said: “Of course I’d love to be part of it and sometimes you do feel hard done by. But there is plenty of talent in the squad and I can’t be selfish. I’ll keep fighting to get back into it because it’s a big dream of mine and it’d be nice to achieve it. I’d love to be involved. You’d never know what might happen over the next six or seven months, so I’ll just try and play as often as I can for Reading, score a few goals and see how things go.

“I’m sure the manager will take notice if I’m scoring goals, so that’s the target for me.”

Hunt admits that being overlooked over the last two years has often left him frustrated, especially during a spell of good form last season that saw him net 11 times in 22 starts for Reading.

“I felt I deserved to be involved because I was scoring regularly and I was only behind Shane Long in the scoring charts. That was disappointing but I have a lot of respect for guys like Jon Walters who have come in and done very well. There are some quality strikers with Premier League experience but hopefully I can get in amongst them.”

Meanwhile Kerry soccer chiefs are hopeful that Trapattoni will visit the Kingdom in the new year to officially open a planned state-of-the-art all-weather pitch at Mounthawk Park, Tralee.

Kerry District League secretary John O’Regan said: “I have got a commitment from FAI CEO John Delaney that he will bring Giovanni Trapattoni to Kerry and he will officially open our new all-weather pitch at Mounthawk Park. It is early days yet, but we are committed to the all-weather project and we would be hoping to start laying the new surface in June, providing we have secured the necessary funding. It’s all systems at the moment and we are inviting tenders for job. I would be hoping that we would be ready in July, just after the European Championships and what a boost to local soccer, if we can get Trapattoni to Mounthawk Park.”

Delaney confirmed: “I made a promise to bring Trapattoni down to Kerry and you have my word that we will do our best to bring Trapattoni down to open the new all-weather facility at Mounthawk Park. If he can go and climb Croagh Patrick and see the Cliffs of Moher, then I want him to visit Kerry where I spent seven years of my life and I still have a house down there, so yes, I will give a commitment that I will do everything to get Giovanni to Kerry in 2012.”