Stephen Hunt is eyeing a return to the international scene that would take his Republic of Ireland cap count to at least 40.

But he realises that to have any chance of winning favour with new boss Martin O’Neill and assistant Roy Keane, who he has already played alongside on a number of occasions, he must first be playing regularly at an acceptable level.

Hunt said: “At the moment it’s baby steps. I’m trying to get into the Ipswich team and if I do that and I’m playing well in the Championship then everything else will take care of itself to a certain extent.

“I’d like to think I still have a future at international level. It’s a great honour to play for your country but first things first. Two or three weeks ago I was still dreaming of playing in the Championship. I just need to get myself going again and see where it takes me.”

His most recent cap came in a 0-0 draw in Hungary in a pre-Euro 2012 friendly before he was an unused member of the squad at the tournament.

Meanwhile, Hunt is certain that the O'Neill-Keane partnership, which has followed the reign of Giovanni Trapattoni, will prove popular with the fans.

He added: “From Ireland’s point of view it’s about bums on seats. If you had one of them it would be the X-factor for sure but to have both of them is like the dream ticket for Irish fans.

“The two guys in charge will know it’s going to be hard work to qualify for Euro 2016 and will involve a lot of long hours going to watch players and studying them.

“It will be about trying to get the right formula because under Trapattoni we got some good results. It’s going to be tough for a new regime to come in and get results, for sure, but at the same time I think they’re pretty well capable of doing it.”

Photo: Action Images

bohslegend added 11:50 - Nov 22 Dont think he'll make it back in to the Ireland squad, McClean, McGeady, Pilkington <<<spit>>> and Robbie Brady are younger and MON is more likely to nurture them. But it's in our interest that Hunt wants to get back in that squad if he raises his game to push for it.
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