The new head coach of Shelbourne has said his eyes are wide open to the challenges that face him in the League of Ireland, citing the “horrific facilities” endured by players compared to their GAA counterparts.
Damien Duff, 42, a former Republic of Ireland international, has agreed a 24-month contract at Tolka Park, where he has been in charge of the club’s Under-17 side since departing his coaching role with Celtic in June last year.
Duff also had a short stint as an assistant to Stephen Kenny, the Ireland manager, before quitting the FAI after their decision to hold an investigation into a motivational video shown before a friendly against England at Wembley this time last year.
Duff, a two-time Premier League winner with Chelsea who finished his playing career with Shamrock Rovers, said his standards “will not be compromised”.
“People have said to me in the last week that I’d have to bite my tongue. If there’s a bottle out of place, I’m not going to say that I’ve had enough of Shelbourne football club. Absolutely, the way you dress or if you’re late for a meeting, in my head that’s the most unacceptable type of behaviour,” he said at his first press conference in Dublin yesterday.
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The midfielder, best known for his direct dribbling at Chelsea, described himself as a perfectionist and said he would not accept players being “anyway lethargic” in training.
“The one thing I pride myself on is standards and I refuse to meet people halfway,” Duff said.
He said football was his focus 24/7 and you “rarely get that” with jobs. “It’s uncomfortable, it’s stressful but it’s where I belong,” he said.
Duff has personal experience of the challenges young players face in this country in regard to facilities and is determined to see improvements, even if he accepts that his remit is to stop newly promoted Shelbourne from becoming a yo-yo club.
“I’ve been to a lot of Gaelic training grounds and they wipe the floor with football. It breaks my heart and startles me,” he said.
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“It’s ridiculous what Gaelic have and then I look at the football. That’s what we have to give the kids. There are no training grounds and the Gaelic is unbelievable. This is how much I care about Irish football. Forget about Shelbourne and me, this is the most important thing that I’ve said.
“Shelbourne have plans for the AUL Complex [the academy for young players] but listen, I’ve told the gang here that I was at the AUL for Irish trials nearly 30 years ago. It hasn’t changed one bit. The toilets I’m going into and chairs I’m sitting on are exactly the same. How has that not improved?
“Am I biting my tongue? No, but I know what’s ahead of me with Shels. They’ve got plans to invest in the AUL and improve it. I trust all of that but I’m just talking here as a passionate Irishman who cares about football in this country.”
He said Ireland was “light years behind” other countries. “This isn’t me having a pop at the FAI. It’s factual. Go see every country, the training grounds, what players are given, so it’s gone wrong somewhere along the line.”