Damien Duff, who quit on Sunday as manager of reigning League of Ireland champions Shelbourne, was described as ‘box office’ for the League of Ireland since he was appointed manager of famous old Dublin club in November 2021. Duff is an effervescent character and every weekend he was loved by the Irish media as he provided some great comments in the build-up to Friday games and also immediately after the games. No doubt he gave Shelbourne a new lease of life and in doing so proved to be a winning manager.
Prior to his appointment as Shelbourne manager in November 2021 Duff had worked as a coach with Shamrock Rovers and for a while he was part of Stephen Kenny’s backroom team at international level. In his first season in charge of the Reds, Duff led the club to their first FAI Cup since 2011, but they lost the Cup final to Derry City. The following season Shelbourne finished 4th in the League to qualify for the Conference League and then last season Duff led The Reds to their first League of Ireland title since 2006.
Shels’ head coach Damien Duff makes his views known at Tolka Park, Dublin, during Friday night’s defeat to Derry City. [Inpho/Ryan Byrne]
Watching Duff on the sideline he lived every pass and his emotions sometimes saw him get into trouble with League of Ireland referees. However, there is an old saying that it’s difficult to win the League title in consecutive seasons, although Shamrock Rovers did it four seasons in a row from 2000 to 2003. Shelbourne have been struggling to score this season and after their home defeat to Derry City on Friday night, Duff probably felt he wasn’t getting the reaction that that he demanded from his players.
The way Shels are playing this season there is little of hope of them catching leaders Shamrock Rovers, who are 14 points ahead after 23 of the 36 series of games played. A few weeks back Duff was critical of his players going off on holiday to Spain during their short mid-term break. After last Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Derry City at Tolka Park Duff said that that a ‘‘pub team would be more motivated.’’ Apparently the players told the manager at a training session on Sunday morning that they were not happy with those comment and he quit.
A statement from the club on Sunday said: ‘‘While all at Shelbourne are deeply saddened by Damien’s decision, we fully respect that he feels this is the right choice for him at this time. During his four extraordinary years at Tolka Park, Damien transformed Shelbourne Football Club both on and off the pitch. His impact on Shelbourne was transformational. He will always be one of our own, and we are eternally grateful for the indelible mark he has left on our club.
Shelbourne’s co-owner Neil Doyle, speaking on behalf of the board, said: ‘‘There are no words that do justice to Damien's accomplishments at Shelbourne and what he has done for both the club and the League of Ireland. We look back with immense pride on his time here. As a club, we move forward with confidence, knowing that the foundations we have jointly built will underpin our continued success.’’ Duff, with 100 caps, was the most capped manager ever to manage a club in the history of the League of Ireland. Now his former assistant Joey O’Brien, another former Irish international, is to temporarily take charge, but as this stage we are not sure if O’Brien will be in charge for the All-Ireland clash with Linfield in the Champions League qualifier early next month.
Shamrock Rovers' Rory Gaffney heading the ball in the 2-0 victory over Cork City at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, Friday night. [Inpho/Bryan Keane]
ROVERS LEAD CUT
Shamrock Rovers maintained an 11-point lead over Drogheda United at the top of the League of Ireland Premier Division on Friday last with a 4-1 home win over basement club Cork City, but were beaten 2-0 Monday night by Bohemians, who leapfrogged over the Drogs to cut the lead to nine points. The North Dublin club also have two games in hand.
Drogheda secured three points on Friday with a 1-0 home win over Sligo Rovers, but could only manage a 1-1 away result in Cork on Monday.
