Hunt welcomes return of First Division play-offs

The recent news that the playoffs will be returning for the League Of Ireland First Division has been welcomed by Cobh Ramblers, along with the rest of the First Division clubs.

It is a decision from the FAI that should mean more meaningful games for the clubs in the division right up until the very end of the season.

Paul Hunt recently picked up the Cobh Ramblers player of the season award for 2017 and he brings great experience and leadership to the current side.

When I spoke to him after picking up his player of the year gong at St Colman’s Park, Hunt welcomed the decision to bring back the First Division playoffs, but he feels the club should aim even higher than that and target automatic promotion.

He won a First Division league title with Longford Town in 2014, in a campaign which saw him record twelve clean sheets. Since joining Ramblers in November of 2015, the 27 year old has been a crucial member of the side and has produced a number of fantastic displays in goals.

Hunt knows what it is like to go up to the Premier Division after winning a First Division title and feels that it is exactly the route Cobh Ramblers should be looking to go down in 2018.

“I said it last year and I will say the same again this year. When I signed for Cobh Ramblers three years ago I signed to win things. I don’t sign at a club to be fighting down the bottom of the table.

“Like any of the other players inside our dressing room I want to win things. I think that little bit more experience that the squad has gained will help us for the 2018 season.

“We are going into the new season to win it and improve on the last two years,” declared a determined Hunt, who recently got married. His wife Trish also is a goalkeeper, most recently lining out with Kilkenny United WFC in the Womens National League.

Hunt is really enjoying working at Ramblers with the management team of Stephen Henderson and Stuart Ashton.

“They both know the game inside out. With the both of them together you have huge experience. It is great for the young lads and even the more experienced lads because they talk to you.

“They have good man-management skills and are good with the players. For young players they are great because they give you chances as well and that is what you want.

“There is some very good young players at the club. I have watched the U19’s, U17’s play and a bit of the U15’s as well. There is good players there in all three of those squads. To be honest Cobh Ramblers is the best club for them. They are going to get chances here. If they are good enough to make the step up, they will be given the chance to step up."

The work that has been put in at the club level over the past two seasons is plainly clear for all to see. In 2016, Cobh were edged out by Drogheda United for a place in the Premier Division during the end of season playoffs.

Those were scrapped in 2017 as the FAI announced changes in the structures of the league. That meant only the league winners would be going up automatically and with a side with a large financial backing in Waterford, it made life very difficult from the outset for clubs such as Ramblers.

However, Cobh gave a brilliant account of themselves and with Waterford making heavy weather of things, there was a chance the league could have been decided on the final day of the season in a title decider at St Colman’s Park.

That did not materialise in the end, but Ramblers finished 2nd through a combination of good performances from some promising young footballers and also the brilliant goalkeeping displays of Hunt.

“At the start of the year you would have taken the second place finish. But with no playoffs it was tough to take when they announced that before the start of the campaign, especially with the budgets the likes of Waterford and Longford have.

“When you look back on things it was a good season for us, but then you look back at games when we lost points that we should not have lost any in. Looking back on it we could have gone on and even won it with that little bit more experience.”

Cobh have been very progressive and there is some great talent at the club. With the experience under their belts, they will be looking to progress even more next season and perhaps finally achieve promotion to the Premier Division, a door they have been knocking on for the past two seasons.

Hunt’s displays will be vital to that. For a goalkeeper keeping clean sheets are just as valuable as goals are to forward players.

“I always have a long goal. I would have a target in terms of the number of clean sheets I’d like to get. I would keep them to myself and if I get there I get there.

“You have to set yourself goals in your career I think. If you don’t you need to look at things and start to bring them into your game.”

Hunt has been a crucial player for Ramblers since joining the club. He played Premier Division football with Longford Town and would love the chance to do the same with Cobh.