Damien Duff shocked Ireland fans last night when his resignation from the Irish national team was confirmed. The 41-year-old won the Premier League with Chelsea and was first team coach to Neil Lennon until the summer with Celtic – deciding to leave for the Irish Assistant Manager’s role.
However, The Irish Examiner has explained why Duff decided to walk away from the role by Stephen Kenny’s side. Back in November, FAI announced an investigation into a video of the 1916 Easter Rising that was shown to the players prior to a friendly with England at Wembley. However, Duff felt aggrieved with the handling of this incident and was ready to hand in his resignation back in November. The incident led to Duff deciding to hand his resignation in over the Christmas period and announcing it last night.
Duff is said to have left without any job lined up and has done so owing to the disagreement with the FAI. This is seen as a huge blow to Kenny who sees Duff as ‘he was the main link between players and staff’. The report states:
‘Many in the squad had come to adore Duff because of how he operated on the training pitch, as well as his use of sharp video analysis and also on a personal basis.’
Interestingly from a Celtic point of view, the former Irish midfielder is not said to be eager on an immediate return to Glasgow and will continue coaching Shelbourne’s Under-17s as he looks for his next position in professional football. The reasons that Duff will be missed from Ireland could explain Celtic’s faltering form this year as The Scottish Champions have failed to replace the ex-Fulham star.
The report cites the regard that Duff is held in Glasgow with the Celtic hierarchy and players all admiring his abilities on the training pitch but also in terms of his analysis. Duff is said to be likely to be linked with the manager’s job at Celtic – should Neil Lennon leave or be relieved of his duties.