DAMIEN DUFF has spoken about how gutted he is to be leaving his dream job at Celtic. The former-Chelsea midfielder will leave the club for a role with the FAI after 16 months as a first team coach to Neil Lennon. The Premier League winner will act as an Assistant to Stephen Kenny with Ireland meaning that the club need to recruit another coach ahead of next season.

Duff’s exit is a huge blow to the club as well as the coach himself, who is leaving due to family reasons and returning to Ireland. Speaking to the Celtic FC website, Duff praised his colleagues at the Scottish Champions and that he will be watching as the club look to win 10IAR.

“The role I had at Celtic was my dream job,” said Duff in an exclusive interview with the official Celtic website. “I’m absolutely gutted, devastated to be leaving, especially at this time, when we’re going for 10.

“It was absolutely a family decision. There is no job in the world that would have taken me away from the role I was in. I’d love to be a brilliant coach one day, but I think it’s more important at the minute that I’m just a brilliant dad, I guess.

“For the first while I was away, my kids were like, ‘Daddy, Daddy, stay for nine and 10’, but as time went by, it was more, ‘Daddy, Daddy, when are you coming home?’ Celtic is one big family, but my family is here as well.

“It was the best year-and-a-half of my sporting life, and I include my football career in that. It was an absolute dream with amazing people. I’m gutted, but my kids need me, which is always the most important thing to any dad.”

Duff arrived to replace Shaun Maloney in a role with Celtic’s Development side in January 2019; however, in just a few weeks later, he was in the first team dugout with Lennon and Kennedy following Brendan Rodgers’ abrupt departure for Leicester City. The new management trio delivered 8IAR as well as a Treble Treble before being offered the role on a permanent basis.

The trio enjoyed further success this season, with a League Cup win as well as the Premiership title which resulted in Celtic equalling Jock Stein’s 9IAR record in 1974.

“I’d never really planned out a coaching career. When you retire it can be quite a scary time, so I thought I’d try my hand at my coaching badges, and from there everything happened a lot quicker than I would have thought.

“In the space of three to four months, I went from coaching 15-year-olds at Shamrock Rovers to being on the sidelines at Tynecastle.

“Like anything in life, I guess I got there because of hard work, 24/7, I was the same as a player. It was amazing, and listen, I’ll be watching every game here from home. Like most Irish people, I was always a Celtic fan before all of this, and now having been in there, loving the guys so much, I’ll be keeping tabs from afar every game on the TV.

“It was great to get a few trophies along the way, in such a short time, and it was an absolute rollercoaster. Working with top people, it was great and amazing learning experience.
“Like I said when I came in, the only club that would have taken me away from home was Celtic, but then with my family based in Ireland, the only thing that would have taken me away from Celtic was my family.

“It was one big rollercoaster and me leaving was one big catch 22, but it was an amazing 18 months working with great staff. The gaffer in the best in Scotland. John Kennedy is the best assistant manager around – I’ve worked with many coaches in my life, but John is one of the best coaches in the world, without a doubt. It’s been amazing learning off him, and Stevie Woods as well, he’s well-respected all around the world and a world-class coach.

“Align that with the players. The players are the best group in the country, amazing characters, amazing talent. The likes of Brown, McGregor, working with them day-in, day-out, that was a dream. It’s all in a good place, and I’ll definitely be back as a fan, hopefully to celebrate, at the end of this season if not before.”

Duff is a huge loss but his circumstances are understandable. The club must recruit with a coach to the same standard as Duff, with Stephen McManus tipped as the potential replacement. Hopefully we will be able to welcome Duff back to Paradise as the club celebrate 10IAR next May.