'It's all his fault,' says Damien Duff as he lifts lid on relationship with Shamrock Rovers manager

Damien Duff says he ‘curses’ Stephen Bradley regularly - because the Shamrock Rovers boss is responsible for his move into management.

He readily admits that he wouldn't be leading Shelbourne’s charge for League of Ireland glory if it wasn’t for the only man who can stop him in the race for this year’s Premier Division title.

“It’s all his fault really,” says Duff, whose Shels side are two points clear of Rovers heading into the final night of the 2024 campaign.

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“What you see, whether it be a positive or a negative right in front of you now, Stephen created it.”

Flashback to 2015 and Duff’s playing days were coming to an end, with a brief spell at Shamrock Rovers capping a glittering career for club and country.

The two-time Premier League winner and hero of Ireland’s 2002 World Cup was wondering what to do next when Bradley, then Rovers’ academy chief, encouraged Duff to coach the club’s Under-15s.

“Listen, I’ve been shaped by many managers and coaches since I was 16 years of age going over to England,” says Duff.

“Has Stephen played a part? Yeah. In all honesty I probably curse him most days. He got me into coaching and management.

“It’s been the best three years of my life. So when I say I curse him it doesn’t mean a negative.

“I’m in this gig because of Stephen. How I got into it I don’t even know some days.

“Ask me or you guys would Damien Duff be a pundit on TV, you’d have said ‘no, he doesn’t speak’.

“Would he have been a coach or manager? ‘No, because he doesn’t speak and he doesn’t have a personality’, I’m sure you’d have said.

“But yeah, I am here, and Stephen pushed me towards it.

“I went and did coaching courses because I was a bit bored and wanted to see what all the craic was about.

“I was crap, it hurt my ego, so I decided to do all of them to see if I could get any better. I did get better, Stephen pushed me along the way.”

From Rovers he went to Celtic in 2019, first as a reserve team coach and then as a first-team coach under Neil Lennon.

A year and a half later, along with a brief role on Stephen Kenny’s senior Ireland staff, he became Shelbourne Under-17 head coach. In November 2021, after turning down the role initially, he was promoted to first-team chief at Tolka Park.

“(Bradley) said I should go (to Celtic), my wife said I should go, part and parcel in the journey. Stephen has had a bit impact, along with people at Celtic. The list is endless,” Duff continues.

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“Curse him, blame him, whatever, he played a big part in me getting into coaching because he said I should do it and I don’t think I had many other options, to be honest, and I needed to keep busy.”

Duff’s decision to hold early-morning training sessions at Rovers raised eyebrows.

“I got criticism for getting them out of bed at five in the morning, training at six. I still wouldn’t change it,” he insists.

“We are talking about the same things 10 years later, young boys in Ireland (still) don’t play enough football. That was the method of my madness.”

Tonight, they are the most bitter of rivals - two men desperate to get their hands on Premier Division glory. Underneath their professional conflict, however, is a deep personal mutual respect.

“I don’t think I’ve fallen out with him,” says Duff. “I know there’s been a bit of back and forth in the background, but to get where I want to go, I will fall out with anyone. I’m happy to do that, as you’ve seen.

“At times, I don’t like the person you become when you go over the white line. But I think you need to have that edge to have success as an individual or as a team.

“Respect? Absolutely, the job he’s done there. Forget domestically for the last four years, in Europe too, incredible. Respect yes. And I blame him for stuff as well.”

Will they share a bottle of wine at some point when the dust settles?

“I’ll have to have one with the staff first,” Duff replies. “They’re the loves of my life.”

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