Noel Hunt, the head coach of Reading Under-21s, has stated that he would be thrilled to see Shane Long, a former teammate, rejoin the team after retiring last summer.
Hunt played alongside Long for Reading and the Republic of Ireland from 2008 to 2010, leading the Royals young squad into the Premier League International Cup and the PL2 play-offs.
Long departed for ten years to play in the Premier League after five years and more than 200 games, only to return with emotion in 2021.
Hunt took over as temporary manager for the final five games, scoring twice as the team was demoted to League One. Long also played after making a comeback from injury.
Hunt would dearly love to see the 37-year-old club veteran make a comeback in some manner. The legend retired in the summer of 2022.He’s quite busy with his tennis and golf,” Hunt remarked.”I’ve asked him a few times, but he deserves the freedom to pursue his goals in life because of his incredible career. The kind of people you want participating with the club are those that are selfless and don’t see themselves as part of the equation—just the club. I would love to see him get back again in some capacity.
Nearing the one-year mark since his previous first-team leadership role, 41-year-old Hunt thought back on his work.
“I thought it was fantastic. The outcomes weren’t great, but when you think back on it, we had Wigan, Burnley, Luton, Coventry, and Huddersfield—places where we performed well but fell short of winning. From a learning perspective, I was incredibly proud of the boys for their perseverance and for playing through ailments, like Shane, in order to sacrifice themselves for the team. I learned a lot about us as a group from it. I believe it was helpful to carry that experience into this year.””