Graham Cummins: Shels players have two months to show Duff they belong

The Damien Duff revolution hasn't lived up to expectations.

Fri, 06 May, 2022 - 07:49

There was so much expectation at the beginning of the season that Shelbourne could make a big impact in the league. Despite having only gained promotion to the Premier Division, the announcement of Damien Duff as manager raised expectancy of the club. Many, including myself, believed Shels would be situated at the right end of the table rather than struggling at the bottom - a position they find themselves in now.

Duff is probably the biggest appointment ever in the league in terms of reputation and what he has achieved throughout his playing career, as well as his coaching career at Celtic. It was a real coup for Shels to convince a player once considered one of the best wingers in the world during the peak of his playing career to take over the first team.

However, it’s not gone to plan this year. The Dubliners find themselves in a relegation battle and have yet to win a home game. Some might suggest it was a gamble by Shels to give the job to someone who had never player or managed in the league. And considering results; it wouldn’t be foolish to suggest the former Republic of Ireland international's first role as a manager could end a lot sooner than many anticipated.

I don’t believe that will be the case. Although he never managed in the league, Duff worked his apprenticeship by managing Shels’ U-17 team. He knew what the club was like before accepting the first-team job. Perhaps reality is different than he expected but he is certainly trying to input his own ideas in the club.

He might not have dealt with first-team League of Ireland players until this year, but Duff was aware of this which is why he brought in staff like Joey O’Brien - a player who knew the league and knew the players in it - to aid him in his maiden first-team job. Hiring the former Shamrock Rovers player wasn’t an act of favouritism among friends. Duff confirmed he'd had few dealings with O’Brien before the 36-year-old became part of his backroom staff and simply hired him based on the recommendations of others. That suggests that, despite the career he had, Duff is humble enough to admit that he needed someone with experience of the league to help him navigate it.

That mindset was emphasised by Shels’ recruitment during the off-season. With his contacts; I’m sure Duff would have had many offers to take players from the UK. He would have had many loan offers, which can be risky, because in many cases players coming from the UK treat playing in the league as a holiday. They feel they are better than the standard and are often here only because they have been instructed to by their parent clubs.

Duff went for the safer choice of recruiting less talented players, but players that knew the league. However, results suggests that the players at the club aren’t good enough to take the club where they want to be, and with the transfer window opening in the summer and a lot of UK players out of contract at that time, I would be fearful for my future if I was a Shels player.

They might expect longer than six months to show Duff their worth, but the Shels manager has proven in the past that he can be ruthless when it comes to the retention of players if he thinks there are better options available. This was evident in the number of players that left the club (almost 75 percent of the squad) at the end of last season.

Duff might now attract some criticism for not keeping on more of those players but apart from one or two, he made the right decisions because the rest weren’t good enough. They won a poor First Division last season, and had all of those players stayed Shels would be in an even worse position now.

It may make more sense to recruit players from the UK in summer. These players' aims will still be to get back to the UK but they will also be out of contract and fearful for their futures in the game. They will come to Ireland needing to make a positive impact in order to secure a move back to the UK.

Some may even find that when they apply the right attitude and commitment to the League of Ireland they enjoy it here more than playing in the lower levels of English or Scottish football.

Whatever the summer holds, the current Shels players have two months to convince their manager they are good enough to be at the club. Duff's touchline ban means he won't be on duty tonight when they take on Liam Buckley's Sligo Rovers team who will relish the big pitch at Tolka Park. It is hard to see Shels turn around a poor run of results and earn their first home victory of the season.