Upbeat Ireland duo prefer the devil they know
Aston Villa defender Dunne says: “If you get to the major finals you want to play the best in the world and we’ve got that in our group.
“It’s going to be a case of anyone could beat anyone out there. And I would rather, if we do get knocked out, that it’s by the bigger sides than in a group where you’re playing teams and you’re half-expected to win or else you don’t know what to expect from them.
“With Italy, Spain and Croatia we know exactly what we’re going to get and what we have to prepare for.”
Dunne’s remarks are echoed by Wolves winger Hunt.
“I personally wanted to play Spain because if you’re going to a tournament you want to play against the best,” he says. “You’ll have no fear against them. There’s not so much pressure. We expect ourselves to get something from the group and to qualify but other people will think no and say we’ll probably finish third or fourth.”
The two Irish internationals make their comments in a new documentary which is screened tonight on RTÉ 2. “The Cat Is In The Bag” — the title a reference to one of Giovanni Trapattoni’s trademark expressions — tells the story of Ireland’s successful European Championship campaign, puts the achievement in its historical context and looks forward to next summer’s finals in Poland and Ukraine.
As well as Dunne and Hunt, there are contributions from a host of Irish players and football personalities, including Kevin Doyle, Keith Fahey, Stephen Ward, Brian Kerr and Ray Houghton.
In the course of the programme Dunne, as you might expect, mounts a robust defence of Trapattoni’s Ireland against the team’s critics while also offering a rare insight into the pre-match huddle, quoting skipper Robbie Keane, just before kick-off in the first leg of the play-off game against Tallinn, as saying to his teammates: “Let’s finish it tonight.”
And the rest, as they say, is hysteria.
Euro 2012: The Cat Is In The Bag is on RTÉ 2 tonight at 8pm.
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