Shane Duffy’s poor run of form continued at Wembley last night as Ireland went down 3-0 to Scotland’s group opponents in next summer’s Euros. Duffy was beaten by Manchester Utd’s Harry Maquire for England’s opener and struggled throughout the first half to deal with the big defender at set pieces.
The Celtic stopper, on a season long loan from Brighton, spoke frankly after the match, as reported by RTE.
“It’s a difficult time, but I’m not the first footballer to go through it and I won’t be the last,” Duffy said. “I’m mentally strong and I can deal with this kind of stuff. It’s just a tough time where performances sometimes don’t go where you want.
“I’m positive. I’ve got managers who believe in me, and I believe in myself. I’ve got good family and friends around me who push me, and good pros who have been there and done it.
“That’s what I’ve got to do – keep cracking on. I know it just doesn’t change overnight. So I’ll keep trying, keep learning. It’ll take a lot more than what they’re doing at the minute to keep me down.”
Duffy went from not playing much football at all in a year to appearing in a hectic fixture schedule for Celtic and Ireland and his international boss earlier in the week suggested that this is perhaps the reason for the dip in form from a usually consistent defender. Stephen Kenny pointed out that Duffy had played 13 games since the start of last month after such a lengthy period without playing.
“Last year, I was probably complaining that I wasn’t playing, so no complaints from me. That’s obviously what I want to do, to play,” Duffy said. “It’s not ideal that it’s probably every two or three days, but I can’t complain, honestly.”
