Honeymoon period for Hunt and Mac
YEP 4/7/13
New Leeds United signing knew Elland Road was the only place to be once Brian McDermott came calling. Phil Hay reports.
In his mind, Noel Hunt became a Leeds United player three weeks ago. As soon as he and Brian McDermott struck a “gentleman’s agreement” about a contract at Elland Road, Hunt considered the matter closed.
With a wedding and a honeymoon behind him and the air at Leeds unusually clear of uncertainty, he signed a two-year deal yesterday and gave United their third recruit of the summer. “It’s the worst-kept secret around,” joked McDermott as he presented Hunt to the press at Thorp Arch.
McDermott’s previous two signings – Matt Smith and Luke Murphy – arrived without warning. By contrast, Hunt’s transfer was telegraphed from the beginning of June onwards and with good reason. The relationship and mutual respect between him and United’s manager made the 30-year-old striker an obvious target.
McDermott did the scouting work prior to Hunt’s move from Dundee United to Reading in 2008 and played him religiously during his years as Reading’s manager. So close are the pair that McDermott was invited to Hunt’s wedding, one of three involving Football League players which the Leeds manager attended last month. Money permitting, the deal was bound to happen.
“We agreed it all about three weeks ago, a gentleman’s agreement, and that was good enough for me,” said Hunt. “It was always done.
“I had my wedding and then I was straight off on honeymoon. There wasn’t time to get it done before I went away and there was no way of faxing everything securely abroad but for me the agreement was the big part. I trust Brian and he trusts me.
“He was a massive factor in me making my decision. There were three or four Championship clubs, even a couple of Premier League clubs, who enquired and wanted to know what I was thinking but when Brian first phoned I had it in my head that I wanted to come to Leeds. That was four or five weeks ago.
“I’ve known him going on six or seven years now. I’ve got a lot to thank him for. He’s honest and for me that’s the biggest part of a person – their honesty. What you see is what you get. If I’m playing, I’ll know why and if I’m not playing I’ll know why. That’s all you ask for.”
McDermott was not the only person whispering in Hunt’s ear. Ian Harte, the former Leeds defender who left Reading with Hunt in May and subsequently moved to Bournemouth, gave his close friend the third degree. Once news of Hunt’s likely move to Elland Road broke, so did every supporter he met.
“I’m really close with Ian and we’re good family friends,” he said. “He knows how much bigger it was here than what I’m used to and he said that if it was him there would only be one club in his head. Speaking to people like that helps a lot.
“But it’s such a big club around the world. We were in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and there were Leeds fans there. Then we were in Saint Lucia and we had people from Yorkshire coming up to us, too.
“When it broke a few weeks ago that I might be coming, it just didn’t stop. At home or abroad there was always a Leeds fan talking about it. It was definitely an eye-opener. But that’s what football’s about. You want to play in front of passionate crowds.
“I wanted to come here and I really think it’s a sleeping giant. People have been saying that for long enough but it can’t sleep forever. I hope we’ve got enough to give it a poke and get it up and running. It’s a big season for the club and a big season for me.”
It will be a strange season, too. For the past five years, Hunt has been at the forefront of Reading’s many achievements. He lost one season to injury but played regularly in the other four, scoring 39 goals. Out of contract this summer, he asked for another two years but was offered only one.
“They offered him a year’s contract when I was there,” said McDermott, who was sacked by Reading in March and replaced by Nigel Adkins. “Noel wanted a two-year contract and the manager there has made a decision. It’s his prerogative. I’m just delighted that we’ve got him. He’s played a lot of games in the last five years and he did a great job from Reading.”
Hunt’s CV at Reading shows a Championship winners’ medal, a play-off final appearance and, most recently, 24 Premier League appearances. He earned the reputation of a highly effective grafter and was never far from the picture at the Madejski Stadium.
“In my first year at Reading, we got to the play-offs and I played in nearly 80 per cent of the games,” he said. “The second year I missed through injury but in the third we got to the play-off final and I played in 90 per cent of the games.
“In my fourth year, we got promoted and I played in 90 per cent of the games again so I’ve been used to a winning mentality, up until last year when things changed a little bit. It was an important time for me and I wish Reading all the best. But, as of today, I’m a Leeds United player.
“If you talk to most players they’d say I’m honest and for me it won’t be about individual goals. It never has been. For me, it’s about team goals and that means you do whatever you can for your team. You need effort, workrate, desire. They’re the three most important things and whatever I can do to get us a goal, score it, make it or be a part of it, that’s the objective.”
McDermott and his squad will soon stray into the period when objectives tend to dominate most conversations.
The prevailing view of Leeds last season is that the club were bereft of the necessary tools required to win promotion to the Premier League.
Hunt, however, says: “I actually think they were equipped with the boys they already had. They’ve got a lot of good players here. And there’s Elland Road. It’s a tough place to come and I know that for a fact. You ain’t just playing against the team, you’re playing against the crowd as well.
“All it needs here is a little bit of help and the manager’s bringing in a few players. It’s never done by individuals in this league, it’s always done by a team effort. That’s not your 11. It’s your 22 or 23-man squad.”
New Leeds United signing knew Elland Road was the only place to be once Brian McDermott came calling. Phil Hay reports.
In his mind, Noel Hunt became a Leeds United player three weeks ago. As soon as he and Brian McDermott struck a “gentleman’s agreement” about a contract at Elland Road, Hunt considered the matter closed.
With a wedding and a honeymoon behind him and the air at Leeds unusually clear of uncertainty, he signed a two-year deal yesterday and gave United their third recruit of the summer. “It’s the worst-kept secret around,” joked McDermott as he presented Hunt to the press at Thorp Arch.
McDermott’s previous two signings – Matt Smith and Luke Murphy – arrived without warning. By contrast, Hunt’s transfer was telegraphed from the beginning of June onwards and with good reason. The relationship and mutual respect between him and United’s manager made the 30-year-old striker an obvious target.
McDermott did the scouting work prior to Hunt’s move from Dundee United to Reading in 2008 and played him religiously during his years as Reading’s manager. So close are the pair that McDermott was invited to Hunt’s wedding, one of three involving Football League players which the Leeds manager attended last month. Money permitting, the deal was bound to happen.
“We agreed it all about three weeks ago, a gentleman’s agreement, and that was good enough for me,” said Hunt. “It was always done.
“I had my wedding and then I was straight off on honeymoon. There wasn’t time to get it done before I went away and there was no way of faxing everything securely abroad but for me the agreement was the big part. I trust Brian and he trusts me.
“He was a massive factor in me making my decision. There were three or four Championship clubs, even a couple of Premier League clubs, who enquired and wanted to know what I was thinking but when Brian first phoned I had it in my head that I wanted to come to Leeds. That was four or five weeks ago.
“I’ve known him going on six or seven years now. I’ve got a lot to thank him for. He’s honest and for me that’s the biggest part of a person – their honesty. What you see is what you get. If I’m playing, I’ll know why and if I’m not playing I’ll know why. That’s all you ask for.”
McDermott was not the only person whispering in Hunt’s ear. Ian Harte, the former Leeds defender who left Reading with Hunt in May and subsequently moved to Bournemouth, gave his close friend the third degree. Once news of Hunt’s likely move to Elland Road broke, so did every supporter he met.
“I’m really close with Ian and we’re good family friends,” he said. “He knows how much bigger it was here than what I’m used to and he said that if it was him there would only be one club in his head. Speaking to people like that helps a lot.
“But it’s such a big club around the world. We were in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and there were Leeds fans there. Then we were in Saint Lucia and we had people from Yorkshire coming up to us, too.
“When it broke a few weeks ago that I might be coming, it just didn’t stop. At home or abroad there was always a Leeds fan talking about it. It was definitely an eye-opener. But that’s what football’s about. You want to play in front of passionate crowds.
“I wanted to come here and I really think it’s a sleeping giant. People have been saying that for long enough but it can’t sleep forever. I hope we’ve got enough to give it a poke and get it up and running. It’s a big season for the club and a big season for me.”
It will be a strange season, too. For the past five years, Hunt has been at the forefront of Reading’s many achievements. He lost one season to injury but played regularly in the other four, scoring 39 goals. Out of contract this summer, he asked for another two years but was offered only one.
“They offered him a year’s contract when I was there,” said McDermott, who was sacked by Reading in March and replaced by Nigel Adkins. “Noel wanted a two-year contract and the manager there has made a decision. It’s his prerogative. I’m just delighted that we’ve got him. He’s played a lot of games in the last five years and he did a great job from Reading.”
Hunt’s CV at Reading shows a Championship winners’ medal, a play-off final appearance and, most recently, 24 Premier League appearances. He earned the reputation of a highly effective grafter and was never far from the picture at the Madejski Stadium.
“In my first year at Reading, we got to the play-offs and I played in nearly 80 per cent of the games,” he said. “The second year I missed through injury but in the third we got to the play-off final and I played in 90 per cent of the games.
“In my fourth year, we got promoted and I played in 90 per cent of the games again so I’ve been used to a winning mentality, up until last year when things changed a little bit. It was an important time for me and I wish Reading all the best. But, as of today, I’m a Leeds United player.
“If you talk to most players they’d say I’m honest and for me it won’t be about individual goals. It never has been. For me, it’s about team goals and that means you do whatever you can for your team. You need effort, workrate, desire. They’re the three most important things and whatever I can do to get us a goal, score it, make it or be a part of it, that’s the objective.”
McDermott and his squad will soon stray into the period when objectives tend to dominate most conversations.
The prevailing view of Leeds last season is that the club were bereft of the necessary tools required to win promotion to the Premier League.
Hunt, however, says: “I actually think they were equipped with the boys they already had. They’ve got a lot of good players here. And there’s Elland Road. It’s a tough place to come and I know that for a fact. You ain’t just playing against the team, you’re playing against the crowd as well.
“All it needs here is a little bit of help and the manager’s bringing in a few players. It’s never done by individuals in this league, it’s always done by a team effort. That’s not your 11. It’s your 22 or 23-man squad.”
