Friday, July 27, 2012

Richard Dunne considering Ireland international future


Ireland international defender Richard Dunne has consulted Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert for advice about whether to retire from international football to focus on his club career.


Asked if he'd considered retirement, Dunne, who is entering the final year of his Villa contract, replied: “Yes, it has a few times. It’s easy after a tournament, the way it’s gone, to make a rash decision and just say ‘that’s it’.“But I just have to think about things.

‘I was basically waiting to get back into training at Villa and then have a think and see how I feel, if I can go away again or not.

‘‘It’s a hard decision because it’s something I love doing.”

‘‘I’ve already spent four weeks thinking about it and I still can’t decide. When the time is right in my own head, I’ll know and then that will be the time.

“It’s such a massive decision because if we’ve qualified for one why can’t we qualify for the next one?

“If we were to qualify for Brazil it would be amazing.”

Dublin born Dunne made his debut for Ireland in April 2000 in a 1–0 loss against Greece in a friendly match and scored his first international goal just two months later against Mexico.