DAMIEN Delaney has not given up hope of ending his season playing for the Republic of Ireland in this summer’s European Championship.

The Town centre-back faces a fight on his hands to get back into Giovanni Trapattoni’s finals squad for Poland and Ukraine.

But having worked his way back into the Town first team, forging a decent partnership with Tommy Smith over the last 11 games, Delaney believes his Euro dreams remain alive.

He said: “I am still hopeful and I am thinking about the tournament. But I can’t control whether I get picked or not. If the people who pick the squad deem that I am not good enough, I can’t do anything about that. It has all quietened down till the end of the season. There will be a squad picked for a pre-Euros training camp but then there will only be a squad of 24 for the competition.

“As long as I have done all I can do, I am not going to lose any sleep if they decide to go another way or have already got the squad picked. It is someone else’s call whether I get a call-up. If I don’t, I will still watch as a fan.”

After the Euros, the centre-back is excited about Town’s chances next season – but that is nothing new.

He explained: “I was pretty excited last year – that’s why I signed my contract. I thought there was something to build on and this was going to be something worth being part of.

“I’m not saying its the players or the manager but it didn’t happen for whatever reason. When the manager came back pre-season, there was only 15 players here. I think we need to keep the bulk of what we have got here now and then build on it for next season.”