Celtic face a battle to hang on to first team coach Damien Duff.
The Irishman has been part of Neil Lennon’s coaching team for the last 13 months but without any comment from Celtic, yesterday Duff was announced as part of Stephen Kenny’s FAI management team.
Although international football only consists of five or six periods a year Kenny is very hands-on and involved in coaching at every level across the country building on his achievements at Derry City and Dundalk.
Brian Kerr was the last international manager to have a true grasp of the domestic game with Kenny’s assistants expected to be involved locally at every level.
Duff’s appointment doesn’t kick in until August 1 which leaves time for some negotiating but after yesterday’s announcement it seems that the FAI are determined to get their man.
The Mirror reports:
Mirror Sport understands the FAI were earmarking Duff for a future role with Ireland as far back as the Nations League draw in Amsterdam five weeks ago.
He will officially take up his new position on August 1 and will remain with Celtic until then but his future with the Glasgow giants beyond that is unclear with speculation yesterday that he may consider a move home.
O’Dea was an Ireland team-mate of Duff’s and is also a fellow Celtic coach having taken charge of their Under-18s last September.
O’Dea told Mirror Sport: “Duffer is a fantastic coach. He’s an iconic figure in football and everyone knows his reputation as a player. People respect him for that, but the biggest compliment I can give him is that his coaching has overtaken it.
“At the club, he is judged solely as a coach and that’s how I look at him. I listen to him not because of the career he had, but because of the coach he has become.
“I’m blessed that I can look above and below me at Celtic and there are coaches with a wealth of experience. Damien is another part of that and has done fantastically well and is loved by everyone as a coach.”
Speaking shortly before Duff was appointed to the Ireland staff, O’Dea said the Dubliner is always striving to improve.
O’Dea continued: “He’s one of the most driven people I know and he wants to prove himself. He was part of Shamrock Rovers and learned the ropes there. The type of person he is and the player he was, he’s not one to cut corners. For all his talent, his worth ethic and professionalism was always second to none and that hasn’t changed”.
Duff was brought to Celtic by Brendan Rodgers to coach the Reserve side after Celtic lost Shaun Maloney but after a month in that role he was promoted to first team duties when Neil Lennon came in as caretaker manager. When Lennon got the job on a permanent basis Duff retained his promotion.