Damien Duff: 'I’m not one bit mortified for myself, I’m mortified for the league'

Duff watched proceedings from the hill behind the School End of Dalymount Park last week. 

Shelbourne head coach Damien Duff watches the game. Pic: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Shelbourne boss Damien Duff fears the photograph of him standing on the hill at Dalymount Park last week are particularly embarrassing and damaging for the league, not himself. 

Duff - serving out a touchline suspension - stood and watched his side fall to Bohemians from the vantage point behind the School End. 

The photograph has been circulated widely in footballing circles on this island and far beyond, with Duff noting that while he looked like "the fool on the hill", his concern was more with the impact it would have on League of Ireland optics. 

“I’m not on the socials, obviously, but I’m not stupid, I’d imagine it got a lot of airtime, probably a lot of laughter. I’m sure an awful lot of people thought I was embarrassed. I wasn’t one bit embarrassed," the 46-year-old said prior to his side's draw with Drogheda United on Monday night. 

I find it a deeply embarrassing photo for the league. I fought as much as anyone for the league for four years, so you could say I’m mortified: ‘Oh, Damien is mortified for himself’. 

"I’m not one bit mortified for myself, I’m mortified for the league.”

The former Ireland international continued: “We call it the greatest league in the world, I call it the greatest league in the world, but a picture has gone to a lot of countries around the world, some big people in the football world have texted me laughing. I think for too long now people have laughed at Irish football and everything about us. 

"Let’s not all fool ourselves and get carried away, the league is in a great place, a wonderful place. Yeah, great, the fans coming like you’ve never seen before, wonderful tight games, the most watched game, 

"I think, in TV history, last year up in the Brandywell, the most exciting league finish in years upon years, but let’s not get carried away, it was an embarrassing photo for the league, not me.” 

Duff did not state whether he had the choice of viewing proceedings at Dalymount from a different location, instead speaking of the embarrassing nature of the situation for the league. 

“Read into it what you want, it’s not me having digs. Like I said, it’s probably got a lot of traction. I stood in a meadow on top of a hill. Here, as the Beatles sing, I was probably the fool on the hill. 

"But again, I was probably the butt of the jokes, but I shouldn’t be. Because it was an awful reflection of the league.

“That’s all I’m saying. Embarrassing. Like I said, you can read into that what you want. I said it before, I said it after, because I utterly believe it.”

Monday night's stalemate against last season's FAI Cup winners, Drogheda, was the champions' eighth draw so far this campaign. A stat Duff laments. The latest of which leaves his charges sitting sixth in the table. 

“It's disappointing, we huffed and we puffed,” he said. “Did we do enough for me to come in here and say we deserved to win the game? I don't think so, we dominated possession, maybe three-quarters of the possession, but did we do enough with the ball?

“Drogheda, they are set up so well and work so hard for each other, loading it, a block, back five ends up a four in front of one at times, brilliant, they have their way, it's a very efficient way. 

"With Drogheda, you have to wear them down, grind them down, and we didn't do that enough.”