Bohemians captain Hunt quits football
Thursday, 17 July 2008 13:58
Bohemians have announced that club captain Kevin Hunt is to retire from the game with immediate effect for personal reasons.
The midfielder has been a regular fixture at Dalymount Park since moving to the club in 1998 and captained them to League success in 2001 and 2003.
Hunt, 32, had made 281 league appearances for the Gypsies, scoring 21 goals.
âI spoke to Pat [Fenlon] yesterday and I told him that I had decided to call it a day from todayâ, he revealed.
"This is not a rash decision, it is something I have thought about. I think it is the right decision for myself and my family.
âI would like to thank the supporters, who have been great to me. It has been a rollercoaster but I felt comfortable at this club from day one.â
Club President Gerry Cuffe paid tribute to Hunt, who made his debut for Bohs in December 1998.
âToday is tinged with sadness for the clubâ, he said. âIt is hard to believe that it is ten years since Kevin made his debut in that relegation battle in Turnerâs Cross. Through the dark days and, thankfully, out the other side, Kevin has stood out in terms of his decency and professionalism. He legendary status at this club is assured and I would like to wish Kevin and his family the very best.â
Manager Pat Fenlon relieved that the Bohs players were devastated to hear the news at training this morning.
âThe players were devastated, they couldnât believe that he is goneâ, said Fenlon. âI think it is important to recognise Kevinâs contribution to the league. He has been the best midfielder in the league for the last ten years. But there is more to life than football, sometimes we all forget that. I have disappointed because I am losing a quality player, but we have to put it in context.â
News of Huntâs retirement was kept a closely guarded secret but news had filtered out to some Bohs fans this morning, many of whom turned-up at the press conference to bid an emotional farewell to the man rightly regarded as the greatest Bohemians player of the modern era.
Sledge, do you know exactly why heâs retired? âPersonal reasonsâ are stated. Feel free to ignore this post if itâs a sensitive issue to do with him and his family or whatever.
Both his kids were diagnosed with a rare medical condition in the past few years and his nerves are gone from constant journeys back and forth from Great Ormonde St(?) Childrens Hospital in London. His wife is ill now as well apparently but thatâs not confirmed. He hasnât been training properly for a couple of seasons now, and heâs too great a pro to just breeze along as one of the clubâs highest earners while making little or no contribution on the pitch.
issues with his two young daughters not being well and him needing to be near a hospital in london for treatmentâŚhas been going to play matches and to training without having slept the night beforeâŚspeaks volumes for the man that he just cancelled a contract worth in the region of 3000 a week and told Bohs to find a replacement in the transfer window in an era when a lot of players would have tried to see out their contract by hook or by crook for the moneyâŚgreat player for bohsâŚAlan reynolds used to try to break him up everytime he played against himâŚ