Daryl Murphy has done it and now Town team-mate Stephen Hunt would like to follow suit and earn a recall to the Republic of Ireland squad.

Hunt, 32, has won 39 senior caps, the last of them coming before the Euro 2012 tournament when he was included in Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad but failed to make an appearance.

With Murphy having come in from the cold recently following a six-year gap it is not surprising that Hunt still has ambitions to feature again now that Martin O’Neill, assisted by ex-Town boss Roy Keane, is in charge.

He said: “I still see myself 100 per cent as a contender. Maybe it just depends in the summer who fancies a holiday. There will be friendlies and people get injured with tight hamstrings.

“It’s not something I’ve ever done. In my book, if your country wants you then you go and play. I’d jump at the chance but right now I have to repay the faith that Mick McCarthy has shown in me at Ipswich by scoring a few goals or at least setting up a few, which also gives me a buzz. That’s the immediate priority.

“If I can get back in, then great, but I probably need to score four or five goals in the 10 remaining games to catch someone’s eye. All I can do to affect my chances is play well and score goals.

“It’s probably about making a few headlines, if the truth be known. I could play rubbish and score two goals. Look at James McClean last weekend — I’m not saying he played rubbish but he scored twice for Wigan and goals get the headlines. Everyone was saying what a good finish it was for his first goal and I need some of that.”

Whether he is recalled or not, however, Hunt is delighted that Murphy is back in the fold and won cap number 10 as a substitute in the recent 2-1 defeat by Serbia in Dublin.

Hunt added: “Daryl has played well this year. He’s an absolute handful up front and doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He’s got nine goals for us and if he took the penalties, all of a sudden that would be 16 or 17 for the season so far and people would see him in a totally different way.

“If you look at it that way he’s been flying. He’s not in double figures but the manager knows what he does for the team, as do the other players, which is why he has been virtually ever-present.

“I call him Denman after the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner in 2008 because he starts off slowly and just keeps going and going so that at the end of the game he’s still flying.”

Meanwhile, keen golfer Hunt is looking forward to returning to Ireland in the summer and hopes to play in the Irish Open pro-am tournament at Fota Island in Cork in June.

Fellow Town midfielder Jay Tabb is looking to Hunt to help him gain entry after he was involved in the BMW Open pro-am at Wentworth in both 2012 and last year.

Hunt has promised to do what he can on Tabb’s behalf but laughed: “I’ve got to get myself in first!”

Photo: Action Images

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