Richard Dunne admits his international future is hanging in the balance after the Republic of Ireland's poor showing at Euro 2012.
Tough-tackling defender has won 76 caps for the Republic of Ireland
Richard Dunne admits his international future is hanging in the balance after the Republic of Ireland's poor showing at Euro 2012.
The defender was part of a campaign in which they were the first team to be knocked out having lost every game and included a heavy defeat to eventual winners and defending champions Spain.
Having spent a summer reflecting on the tournament the 32-year-old has yet to decide on whether to hang up his international boots or aim for a century of caps.
Dunne will make a decision in the next few weeks after talking the matter over with his Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert, who himself played 40 times for Scotland.
Tough call
"Retirement has crossed my mind a few times," said Dunne. "It's easy after a tournament, the way it has gone, to make a rash decision and say 'that's it'.
"But I just have to think about things. I was basically waiting to get back into training with Villa and then have a think, see how I feel.
"It's a hard decision, because it (playing for Ireland) is something I love doing, and I had a chat with Paul Lambert about it and asked him about it.
"He said it has to be down to me because if I'm not happy with the decision and I regret it, then it's no good. I've already spent four weeks thinking about it and still can't decide."
The defender still has a few weeks to make up his mind as Ireland do not kick-off their qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014 until the start of September.
