Graham Cummins: No downsides for Shels as draw of Damien Duff will worry big guns

When Shels secured promotion back to the top-tier of Irish football last month, I doubt any of the teams competing at the top end in the Premier Division were too concerned by Shels’ instant return, writes Graham Cummins

Forget Duff’s lack of experience as a manager - he has coached at Celtic and the Republic of Ireland senior team, argues Graham Cummins. Picture: INPHO/Evan Treacy

Damien Duff becoming Shelbourne manager would not have been welcome news for other clubs in the Premier Division.

When Shels secured promotion back to the top-tier of Irish football last month, I doubt any of the teams competing at the top end in the Premier Division were too concerned by Shels’ instant return. Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic wouldn’t have seen their Dublin rivals as a real threat — the sides who know they will be facing a relegation battle next season would have been more concerned by Shels’ rise.

Yes, Shels ran away with the First Division title, but that was largely down to the weakness of their challengers. This year’s First Division was meant to be one of the most competitive for years, but such was the lack of consistency and often quality, it was easy for Shels.

The First Division champions weren’t an exciting team to watch. They didn’t play an attacking, free-flowing style of football and I wasn’t surprised to see Ian Morris leave the club, even though he had just led them to promotion.

Shels had a good group of experienced players that achieved exactly what they should have, and that same group of players will now be fearful about their futures.

There’s a big difference between being the best team in the First Division and competing amongst the elite teams in the Premier Division. Most of those players know they will suffer the same fate as Morris.

The appointment of Duff is a signal of intent from chairman Andrew Doyle, who has big ambitions for the club. Does it guarantee success? Absolutely not. But it does give the team a better chance of fulfilling Doyle’s vision.

Morris had a wonderful career as a player. However when you compare it to Duff’s, it’s night and day. That’s no offence to Morris because there’s not many who have had a career like Duff. The former Premier League winner will instantly have the respect of any player in the Shels dressing room.

Players do question a manager’s beliefs and tactics based on their playing career. If a player has played at a higher level than his manager he will often believe he is in the right when his manager is telling him otherwise. That will not be an issue with Duff.

What will also help Duff is his punditry work. Anyone who has watched and listened to Duff on television will know that he demands and expects a lot from players.

It also helps him be seen as ‘relevant’. He’s not a pundit who has been on the television for years and is perceived as some sort of ‘dinosaur’. His ideas are fresh and current Shels players and potential signings will be excited about that.

Players will want to play for Duff. Shels will be able to attract a better calibre of player now than they have in the past. Younger players will want to go and learn off one of the best players to have ever played for this country, and I’m sure they will be thinking, because of his links in the UK, that they have a better chance of playing across the water with Duff as their reference.

In the past, I know Shels have tried to recruit top players in the league and in some cases players have held discussions with the club more to find out what wages Shels are willing to pay rather than any actual desire to join them. I don’t see that being the case anymore. Players will be eager to talk to Shels when interest is shown and the club will no longer just be a negotiating tool to use at contract time.

Duff’s links in the UK will also help him attract better players from across the water, even on loan because clubs in England will trust Duff to give their players quality coaching and develop them. Players moving country will prefer to work with someone who has achieved almost everything in the game rather than a manager they may not have heard of.

It’s not often that the appointment of a League of Ireland manager is one of the most talked about subjects on the sports news, but Duff’s new role has got every football fan in Ireland interested. It enhances the reputation of Shelbourne and their fans must be ecstatic. I’m struggling to find any downsides with the deal. Forget Duff’s lack of experience as a manager. He has coached at Celtic, with the Republic of Ireland senior team, and probably most importantly, he was the Reds U17s boss this year, which means he knows everything about the club and no challenge that arises will come as a surprise.