Proactive Hunt in no mood to be sidelined before big kick-off

Stephen Hunt can be as combative in interviews as he is on the pitch and the Wolves winger was in spikey form yesterday as he made it clear he is not prepared to be Ireland’s invisible man in Poland.

One interviewer drew an icy stare and a withering put-down simply because he suggested Glenn Whelan’s recent wedding was a last chance of a “blow off” for Hunt and the other Irish players in attendance prior to the business at hand.

“Blow off?” said Hunt with a mixture of distaste and disbelief.