Noel Hunt on developing late, Pep Guardiola's advice and his new role as Ireland U19 boss

Hunt's new routine entails preparing to face England in a friendly at St George’s Park on Friday week before a camp in Slovenia.

ON THE HUNT: Noel Hunt during day two of the FAI UEFA Pro Licence Course at Fota Island Hotel & Resort in Cork.Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.

Noel Hunt’s personal career graph has taught him only a fool would ignore the little fella as Ireland U19 manager.

Wes Hoolahan is the archetypical example of a player overlooked in their teens on size grounds, only to prosper as a late developer.

Academy chief Will Clarke last month namechecked Jack Moylan in similar terms for a modern comparator.

The striker who marked his Ireland debut with a hat-trick in May was a peripheral figure around the underage international scene until physique subsided in the selection criteria.

As a youngster in Waterford navigating the local and national scene, Hunt didn’t catch the attention of FAI scouts.

Now that the former Premier League player and scorer has been in that position of authority since May, he’s conscious of applying a broader scan of prospects, with an eye on the bigger picture.

“The end of my career was brilliant, but I was nowhere near it as a teenager,” he explains about contrasting development paths.

“I was a goalkeeper at 5'4", in Waterford, playing outfield when I could. I wouldn't have been good enough to be in the Ireland squads. We cannot forget about or take players out of the equation.

“So, there will be one like me that pops up around the corner at 18 or 19. They will show up on our radar and come through as a late developer.

“The best example of that is Tyrone Mings. He joined us at Ipswich Town having played non-league up to nearly 20 and went on to become an England international.”

Hunt, 43, is the younger brother of fellow former Ireland international Stephen.

Together they were part of Reading’s Premier League glory era, and it was at the Berkshire club where Noel was handed his first managerial job at the age of 40 following a couple of assistant roles under Richie Wellens.

He took permanent charge of the Royals for a mere 10 months, becoming another casualty within the lower league managerial churn last December.

This assignment, working with the best of brimming Irish talent, comes with a different set of challenges. He was used to celebrating his birthday on duty.

“Last Christmas was the first I was at home for in 26 years,” he revealed. “It was weird, especially as I was used to opening my birthday presents after the St Stephen’s Day match.

“I was both gutted and grateful after leaving Reading but went through all the stages of grief, probably the release and then the boredom.

“Football is an addiction for me, but I know it is a shit business. There’ll be failures along the way.

“My wife was really good in that she ensured something was booked at the end of every month. She said, ‘you're going to take the time off and just recalibrate, start refreshed.’

“That's probably the best thing I did. With Reading, every morning you're turning up preparing for something, whereas there's a gap between international windows here.

“There's still a lot of work to be done and it's a different type of pressure on yourself to ensure things are right.” Offers came his way but sage advice by a managerial legend was the forefront of his thinking.

“Richie and myself were fortunate to attend an afternoon with Pep Guardiola and he urged us not to jump into things if they didn’t feel right. This one did.”

His new routine entails preparing to face England in a friendly at St George’s Park on Friday week before a camp in Slovenia.

Their European qualification group in November features Greece, Norway and hosts France.

Former Cork City midfielder Conor McCormack is working alongside him as assistant and periodic get-togethers don’t preclude their Irish players from conducting their own prep.

“It's not enough anymore for players just to go out onto the training pitch,” he asserted.

“Everything is at a player’s fingertips in the digital age. I call it 24/7 pro because you must act that way constantly.

“It's not just when you come into camp; habits, sleep, fuel, refuel, hydration and gym time are all there.

“There's no excuse not to know what to do as a professional footballer.”