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Dunne. INPHO/Donall Farmer
Uncertain

Dunne considers international retirement

The experienced defender says calling time on his Ireland career has “crossed his mind” over the past few weeks.

RICHARD DUNNE SAYS he has thought about hanging up his international boots since Ireland’s exit from Euro 2012.

Giovanni Trapattoni’s side suffered three defeats at the hands of Croatia, Spain and Italy in Poland last month and, with the World Cup qualifiers to begin in September, it is believed that some of the team’s most experienced players might call it a day.

However, the 32-year-old Aston Villa defender, who has 76 senior caps, told The Sun that he has yet to make a decision on his future.

“It has crossed my mind a few times over the summer to consider my international future,” Dunne said.

“It’s hard after a tournament has gone the way ours has gone. It’s probably easy to make a rash decision and just say ‘That’s it’.

On the one hand we’ve got a tough group coming up and there’s talk of another couple of players retiring as well.

“But Brazil is a hell of a carrot dangling there. To play in a World Cup in Brazil would be massive. That’s why it’s such a difficult decision. We qualified for one tournament, why can’t we qualify for the next one?

“If the boys did qualify for Brazil and suddenly I wasn’t part of it, it would be a major disappointment.”

Dunne, who has asked new Villa manager Paul Lambert for advise on the matter, added that he will know when the time is right.

Read more in The Sun here

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