Jackson Irvine admits disappointment after Australia’s Asian Cup exit

Hull City midfielder Jackson Irvine has admitted that he was disappointed with the nature of Australia’s exit from the recent Asian Cup. The Socceroos were one of the favourites to reach the final of the tournament but that was not meant to be after hosts United Arab Emirates secured a shock 1-0 win over them at the quarter-final stage.

Speaking to Hull Live, Irvine said that he was pleased with his involvement at the tournament, although there was sadness with the early exit, he quipped: “I enjoyed it, even if I was home a week earlier than I’d have liked. It was a sad way to leave it in the end but I love playing for my country. It’s always such an honour and to be involved in another major tournament was amazing.”

Since returning from the Asian Cup, Irvine has seamlessly been integrated into the Hull setup for the Championship duties and speaking on the same, the midfielder was impressed with the faith shown by manager Nigel Adkins from the off, he added: “I’ve settled back in seamlessly. I’ve enjoyed being back and a part of it and it’s amazing from the gaffer to have that faith to throw me back in the mix. “I want to play a key part and be a big player for this team and I need to keep my performances high because we have quality waiting in the wings.”

“The Yorkshire outfit were the in-form club at the turn of the year“ and they were on a six-match winning league run before the stalemate against Aston Villa. Since then, there has been a mixed run of results and they have recently gone winless for two successive “matches against Derby County“ and Rotherham United.

Despite this, the club are still within nine points off the top six and they could yet make a late charge for the playoffs, should they revive the form showcased during the festive period. Hull are scheduled to face Brentford on the road during the weekend’s league fixture.