'The Damien Duff era at Shelbourne FC has ended - today's a new chapter' Shels defiant despite bombshell
Shelbourne insist there's no hard feelings with Damien Duff over his shock exit and they will continue to thrive in his absence.
Irish football was rocked on Sunday when – as first revealed by the Irish Examiner – the Ireland legend informed his players at training of his intention to immediately quit.
A degree of tension had arisen following his cutting remarks about a lack of preparation and motivation in the aftermath of Friday's 1-0 defeat to Derry City but to the extent a parting was anticipated.
The champions might be 15 points off leaders Shamrock Rovers but are within touching distance of a top-four slot to guarantee a third year of European qualification.
Champions League football will be returning to Tolka Park for the first time in 18 years on Wednesday fortnight when Island rivals Linfield visit, but Duff wasn't waiting around.
His three-and-a-half year spell will be fondly remembered for it provided as much to him as a first-time boss as it did in revving the fortunes of a club that had descended into yo-yo status since the heady noughties days led by Ollie Byrne and Pat Fenlon.
Tolka may look the same but the organisation is a world apart.
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Mickey O'Rourke and the Doyle brothers, Cathal and Neil, hold the majority shares, with the latter brother intrinsically involved in the day-to-day operations of an outfit they began investing in 14 months ago.
Former All-Ireland GAA winner Mossy Quinn recently joined as chief executive. Stressing everybody at their club 'did their best' to keep Duff as chief, Doyle assured the Reds fanbase that the objective is to continue strengthening the club.
He was adamant the development created 'no recriminations, no hard feelings', describing it 'just a parting of the ways for great friends at the end of a journey'.
It remains to be seen if the caretaker spells of Duff's assistant Joey O'Brien, flanked by other staff members David McAllister and Paul Skinner, will continue beyond this week for their Champions League debut.
One win over two legs against the Irish League champions would treble the guaranteed €1m of prize-money, going a long way to replenishing the trading losses of the club over the past three years.
Shels, sixth in the table, have trips to Waterford on Monday and Galway United on Friday (both 7.45pm).
'Yesterday was a tough day, I'm sure every one of you felt the same,' began the statement directed to the club's fans who revelled in last year's unlikely title triumph.
'The Damien Duff era at Shelbourne FC has come to an end.
'It is a great privilege we hold to represent you as we navigate through a day like yesterday. I knew in every word I spoke, to Damien, to the players, to the staff you were all right there with me.
'I have no doubts in saying to you, everybody from staff to players did their best yesterday – I have no regrets.' Doyle referenced the naysayers predicting the regression of a club synonymous with the league's leading light.
'Every single comment I see about us being reliant on one man, how we're nothing without a single individual and tolling the death knell of Shelbourne FC will spur us all on to greater things,' he said.
'Our foundations are stronger than they've ever been and we will continue to strengthen this amazing club.
'Regardless of how you're feeling about Damien's departure, we need you now more than ever.
'Your support is not just for those that take to the pitch, or the staff in the dugout.
'It is for the generations of people to come behind us who will hear of the great triumphs we are yet to have. How we overcame adversity, how we got behind our club and how we proved everybody wrong. Again.
'From the first to the last-minute let's show the rest of the League of Ireland, and the world, what it means to be a Shels supporter. I will be right there with you.
'Today is the beginning of a new chapter.'
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Irish Post
38 minutes ago
- Irish Post
Shelbourne 'deeply saddened' as Damien Duff steps down as manager
SHELBOURNE manager Damien Duff has stepped down from his role with the League of Ireland Premier Division side. The former winger, who made 100 appearances for Ireland, led the club to the title last season for the first time in 18 years. However, the 46-year-old departs after almost four years at the helm with the club sixth in the table after 22 games, 15 points adrift of leaders Shamrock Rovers. The Reds are set to take on Linfield in the First Qualifying Round of the Champions League next month. In a statement, Shels said that while they were 'deeply saddened by Damien's decision, we fully respect that he feels this is the right choice for him at this time'. 'Transformational' Shelbourne said that Duff — whose last game in charge was Friday's 1-0 home defeat to Derry City — informed the club of his decision this morning before telling the players. "During his four extraordinary years at Tolka Park, Damien transformed Shelbourne Football Club both on and off the pitch," read the club statement. It added: "The club wishes Damien and his family every happiness and success in the future. His impact on Shelbourne FC 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." Duff after scoring the final goal for Ireland in a 3-0 win against Saudi Arabia at the 2002 World Cup to help his side progress to the last 16 (Image: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images) Neil Doyle, Shelbourne FC co-owner, speaking on behalf of the board, said: "There are no words that do justice to Damien's accomplishments at Shelbourne FC 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. Thank you, Damien, for everything." Assistant manager Joey O'Brien and the coaching staff will take charge of tomorrow's trip to Waterford and will prepare the team for Friday's match at Galway United. Career Duff scored eight times during his Ireland career and played at both the 2002 World Cup and the 2012 European Championships. At club level, he played in the Premier League for Blackburn, Chelsea (with whom he won two league titles), Newcastle and Fulham, before spells with Melbourne City and Shamrock Rovers. He later joined the coaching staff at Tallaght Stadium before taking up a reserve team coaching role at Celtic, where he was eventually promoted to first team coach. He served as Stephen Kenny's assistant with the national team for nine months until January 2021, before taking over newly-promoted Shelbourne in November that year. In his debut season in 2022, he guided Shels to a seventh-place finish and a first FAI Cup Final appearance since 2011. The following year, a fourth-place finish brought the Reds back to European competition for the first time in 18 years. In 2024, Duff led the Reds to one of the greatest triumphs in the club's 130-year history, clinching the League of Ireland Premier Division title for the first time since 2006. See More: Damien Duff, Shelbourne
Extra.ie
40 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
Duff's exit leaves our league in a much poorer place
Life goes on. The world keeps turning, but it is hard to overstate just how much of a gaping hole in the League of Ireland has been left by Damien Duff's shock departure on Sunday. A number of factors have contributed to the spike in popularity and profile of the league over the last few years – from a post-Covid desire to reconnect with local communities to the post-Brexit environment, to the sense that the Premier League is no longer operating in the real world, but there's no doubt that Duffer was the driving force. He was the public face and figurehead and his ability to create headlines ensured he became its most prominent voice. It is hard to understate just how much of a gaping hole in the League of Ireland has been left by Damien Duff's shock departure on Sunday. Pic: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile Many of us did wonder just how much of the surge in popularity for the league was simply down to the presence of one of our greatest players. Well, we are about to get an answer. The league, and more significantly Shelbourne, begin life in the post-Duffer world this evening and it already feels like it will be a poorer place. Duff did borrow a lot from the Jose Mourinho playbook, the manager with whom he won two Premier League titles. Even Sunday's abrupt exit has the feel of something that the Portuguese native would do – and his efforts to generate headlines with such wild statements like 'raze the FAI to the ground' were often just to deflect from his players. Just as he learnt from Mourinho. Before Shels claimed the title in dramatic circumstances on the final day of last season, he contacted his old boss and asked him to give his players a message. 'Why Jose?' 'Because, do I try and build, have we tried to build a siege mentality, us against the world like he did? Many of us did wonder just how much of the surge in popularity for the league was simply down to the presence of one of our greatest players. Well, we are about to get an answer. Pic: INPHO/Dan Clohessy Absolutely. It would be mad not to tap into him. In the team meeting, there was a private message from Jose speaking about what it takes to win a title as a team, [and] as an individual. It blew the guys away.' His press briefings were always considered a vital appointment for this country's soccer writers as Duff would always hold forth on many of the issues within the FAI, Irish football and the league. And, while he often said he didn't want to go to certain places, it only took a prompt or two. He brought such an intensity to the job , you often wondered if Duff would burn himself out. In the decade or so since he undertook the coaching journey, Duff has proved to be someone who works on instinct – whether at Shamrock Rovers, Celtic or Ireland, where he lasted eight games as one of Stephen Kenny's assistants. This season's title defence has been difficult, despite the recruitment of Kerr McInroy and Miko Odubeko and they lie sixth, 15 points behind league leaders Shamrock Rovers. His fiery comments on Friday night following the 1-0 defeat to Derry City suggested that he felt the team were stagnating and perhaps he didn't know how to motivate the players anymore. Damien Duff saluting Shels fans with the league trophy. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile 'The biggest thing to take away was a lack of quality, energy and probably motivation. If you are an amazing professional, you bounce into the third game in a week. Even if you are a bit tired, a bit flat, drag yourself along, give yourself a talking to. 'I prepared for the game like I was a professional footballer. My wife probably cursed me at times. Three-hour siesta, ate really well, focused my mind. I would like to know how many of my players prepared like me or as well as me, which is damning. 'There was a severe lack of energy, real flatness, severe lack of quality and you are going to get nowhere. It all comes back to how motivated players are.' The league, and more significantly Shelbourne, begin life in the post-Duffer world this evening and it already feels like it will be a poorer place. Pic: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile Clearly the flatness and lack of motivation among his squad was affecting Duff more than anyone knew. The league now steps into the unknown. Shamrock Rovers head to Dalymount Park for tonight's big Dublin derby, featuring two managers – Stephen Bradley and Alan Reynolds – who had their own runs-in with Duffer, and who may suffer from his lack of stardust about the place. Even if he leaves Shelbourne in a good place — heading into their first Champions League journey in 18 years against Linfield – the league is going to suffer because he's not around.
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