Shelbourne boss Damien Duff has channeled his former manager Jose Mourinho following the loss to Shamrock Rovers as he focuses on ‘the biggest game in over a decade’ for the Tolka Park side .
The Shels have improved over the season, the first for Duff in senior management, and have performed particularly well in recent weeks, booking a place in the FAI Cup semi-finals and securing their safety with ease.
They looked set to end a year-long unbeaten streak for the champions at Dublin 24 yesterday, only for two late goals to turn the game around.
Duff was unhappy that a free-out was not given to the Reds before a corner kick was given to the winner from Rory Gaffney, who was netted in the 95th minute of the game despite a minimum of four minutes being added.
“If I had to express my views on the officials and everything that happens in this league, I wouldn’t be on the sidelines next week.”
Damien Duff unhappy with why the game went on for over four minutes of stoppage time and also talks about his newfound love for the League of Ireland as ‘love at first sight’ #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/Z1jlBB1Pxn
— RTE Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 9, 2022
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Duff declined to comment on the refereeing, only to describe the timing as ‘absolutely incredible’, fearing a touchline ban for their FAI Cup semi-final on Sunday at Waterford .
Duff served under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea where he sadly said he ‘prefers not to talk because if I talk I get in trouble’.
The Shels boss said: “The frustration isn’t with the players, it’s the result, it’s four minutes added to the hour which ends at 96½ minutes with the game still ongoing. C is absolutely amazing.
“I don’t think it’s a corner, I think it’s a free kick at the far post. But listen if I had to express my views on the officials and blah, blah and everything that happens in this league , I wouldn’t be on the sidelines next week.
“So I’m very proud to lead Shelbourne Football Club and I want to be on the touchline next week. I can’t wait. I can’t wait. That’s why (I’m not talking about it). “
The former Celtic manager believes he has learned to be a more measured presence on the sidelines, as he also spoke about being one of the most numerous Republic of Ireland internationals to enter a league to which he has no real affiliation.
“I’d like to say it’s not losing your mind in the game, which maybe you could have shown me earlier in the season. It’s the training in the game. It’s true to who I am.
“I could be a thunderbolt here and only here nine or 10 months when people have been supporting this league for probably 30, 40, 50 years.
“It’s my league now as much as they are. I’ve loved every minute of it and like I said I’m proud to lead Shelbourne. It’s a big disappointment here today but hopefully this will be a different story next Sunday.
It’s https://t.co/X9zf947L5m FAI Men’s Cup semi-final week
Two Massive Live Games @RTE2 with a place in the Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium at stake @ExtraIRL | #FAICup pic.twitter.com/ONrL1G52Oe
— FAIreland ⚽️ (@FAIreland) October 10, 2022
“Did we deserve to get anything out of the game today? bad luck story.
“I tell the guys in there that I’m sick of them and they need to stop. Again, I couldn’t be more proud of them.
“I will never change. We will continue to train them, train them, believe and give them details week after week. If there were ever any bad luck stories here, and there were, guys dusted off.
“They’ve been great all year, they’ll be back on Monday morning and we’ll start to tackle the biggest game Shelbourne Football Club have had in over a decade.
“Performance usually brings results. When we play like the game today, results will come.”
#Duff #channels #Mourinho #eyes #biggest #game
