Hunt going all out out to stop Saints marching on
The 33-year-old is likely to start for Mick McCarthy’s team against Southampton in tonight’s third round replay at Portman Road (BBC 1, 7.55pm) — the sides drew 1-1 at St Mary’s.
“The way I see it we’re five or six games away from Wembley and it’s a chance to win some silverware,” Hunt said.
“The older you get the more you want to win medals. Yes, we’re living the dream a bit and we’ll just take each game as it comes.
“Right now Wembley seems so far away but generally, if you win two or three games, all of a sudden you are in the quarter-final and only one game away from Wembley because they play the semi-finals there.
“Southampton are a very good team but we’ll be looking to get an FA Cup atmosphere going, have a right good go at them and try to win.
“We’ve lost just once in 12 league games (Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Derby) so there’s not a lot wrong with our form. Even from the knock we took against Derby on Saturday we’re still confident and we have a lot of strong characters in the team. We can pick ourselves up and go again.
“Win the game, knock out a Premiership team and hopefully Portman Road will be rocking at the end of it.”
He admits that beating Southampton, who defeated Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday to climb to third in the Premier League, is a tough ask for the Suffolk side, who are third in the Championship.
“It will be anything but easy,” Hunt conceded. “Southampton have just gone to Manchester United and won.
“It’s magnificent no matter how you do it – whether you dominate possession or you defend for your life. It’s a great result for them and I’m sure they will be coming here with plenty of confidence. It’s impossible to say how the replay will go. It’s all about circumstances. The Portman Road pitch is very good but it’s not as good as Southampton’s so it won’t be as easy for them to pass the ball as well as they did at their place. We’ll be looking to make it a typical FA Cup game, try to even it up and try to get a result.”
A home tie against Hunt’s first English club Crystal Palace awaits the winners.
Meanwhile Ipswich’s preparations for the game have been disrupted by a virus sweeping through the camp.
Midfield trio Cole Skuse, Teddy Bishop and Jay Tabb were all sent home from training and are set to miss the Portman Road showdown.
“There’s a virus going around the place that is laying one or two of them low,” said manager Mick McCarthy explained.
“I’m actually quite pleased because it knocked me low for about a week and I thought I was getting soft. It’s made me realise that I’m not as soft as I thought I was when younger, fitter people have been affected.
“Of course, I’m not really that happy that they are laid up because they can’t play. It’s very unlikely that they’ll be involved, but I think the other 14 are okay.”
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