Mipo Odubeko: 'I'm the type of person where I need to be told things directly'

Mipo Odubeko appreciates the direct communication he is getting from new manager Damien Duff.

Tue, 11 Feb, 2025 - 06:12

John Fallon

Damien Duff wasn’t shy about using his hard sell to preach the hard truth to Mipo Odubeko.

Looking to leave the sun of Madeira in Portugal behind him last summer, the striker was seeking his next destination.

England or Ireland were the principal options and the Shelbourne boss was aware the forward had unfinished business in the country he was handed a Premier League debut by West Ham United.

Fleetwood Town was the inlet Odubeko was swaying towards and yet Duff didn’t attempt to declare the player before him was risk-free.

Perhaps it's his demeanour or history of declining Ireland U21 call-ups after he’d been overlooked at a younger age-group but the Dubliner has attracted a certain reputation.

From the two Manchester clubs in his teens, Odubeko seemed to have been vindicated in his decision to quit United for West Ham when David Moyes blooded him.

Yet he failed to spark during loan stints with Huddersfield Town, Doncaster Rovers and Port Vale.

Changing scene to the Iberian island best known as Cristiano Ronaldo’s birthplace wasn’t a piece of cake either.

A common pattern of transience was developing.

Fleetwood lasted only four months too before Duff finally landed his man.

“I felt the love from him even before I walked in the door,” the 22-year-old said. “He gave me a real proper chat, telling me how things are going, how he wants things to go and sees how they can go.

“I'm the type of person where I need to be told things directly. I agreed with him fully. I'd rather him give it to me like that than lie and make me feel happy and comfortable. I'd prefer the harsh truth.”

Duff has developed a knack for regaining direction for lost souls, players of undoubtable ability craving for the right tutor to facilitate their particular collection of idiosyncrasies.

“I've been in the game for five seasons and I've had different managers,” summarised the player originally from the same Tallaght neighbourhood as Robbie Keane.

“It's been difficult. I've not really had the minutes I feel I deserve for various different reasons but listen, that's football, that's life, things happen.

“It's nothing for me to be down about and I feel with the gaffer here, I understand him and he understands me. We're very alike as people, very direct.

“Our main contact was on Whatsapp. He’d just message me at random times, even before I signed.

“As a player, when you feel someone messaging you, you know they want you.

“You sort of make the decision in your head that as long as the other stuff can go right, like the negotiations and all the stuff in the background.

“Ever since I came in four weeks ago, he’s been brilliant with me.

“I can feel someone who really wants me to do well and get the best out of me, I’m really to have someone like that to work with at the moment.”

None of his previous managers were flinging Odubeko messages at dawn.

“He doesn’t stop,” explained the striker, who marked last Friday’s debut in the President Cup with the opening goal of a 2-0 victory over Drogheda United.

“He just makes videos of Erling Haaland and all the top players, sending them on at 6.30am.

“That massively because you start to find yourself in the positions when the ball drops, it comes from pulling off and being out of the defender’s eyeline. Stuff like that I didn't really notice before but do now.”

It’s the type of tuition that will optimise the potential Odubeko produced in the formative stage of his career. He believes the guidance can elevate him all the way to a senior breakthrough with Ireland.

“100%. 100%,” he replies about international prospects. “I think the manager will get the best out of me. A lot of people will see that this season.”

Derry City at home, the first game of Shelbourne’s title defence, is the next window for a glimpse.

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