Former Celtic coach Damien Duff has been nominated for the Soccer Writers Ireland Personality of the Year in his rookie managerial season.
The 43-year-old has had a long and illustrious career in football, which includes his playing days in the English Premier League.
Duff has also ready had some major coaching roles at former club Shamrock Rovers and as part of the Republic of Ireland set-up.
However, the spell Celtic supporters may remember Duff best for was his time at Parkhead as a member of Neil Lennon’s coaching staff.
The former Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea man initially started in the youth setup before being promoted to the assistant coaching team alongside John Kennedy.
The Irishman played his part in helping the Bhoys achieve the ‘treble treble’, as well as a ninth successive league title, before returning to his homeland for family reasons.
Around two years on from his Parkhead exit, Duff has gone on to forge the start of his managerial career at Shelbourne FC in the top-flight of Irish football.
This campaign, he led the recently promoted team to safety in the league, finishing 7th place and also took his team to the FAI Cup final, which they, unfortunately, lost out on.
Overall, it was a strong first season in the dugout for the popular former Celtic coach, and he has received praise for the job he has conducted at Tolka Park.
Damien Duff receives award nomination in rookie managerial year.
On Tuesday afternoon, it was announced that Damien Duff has been nominated for the SSE Airtricity Soccer Writers Ireland Men’s Personality of the Year award.
The list is mostly made up of representatives from Shamrock Rovers, with manager Stephen Bradley and players Andy Lyons and Rory Gaffney being nominated after another league title-winning season [Irish Sun].
However, alongside Duff, there are other managers nominated for the award, including Ruaidhri Higgins of Derry City and another man with links to Celtic, Colin Healy, who is manager of Cork City.
Damien Duff makes up the list after maintaining Shelborne’s top-flight status after just over a year in his first managerial role.
Although the ex-English Premier League winner couldn’t pick up any silverware, it was an impressive first campaign in the dugout.
Duff faces tough competition, with the winner seeming likely to come from Shamrock, given their domestic and European achievements this season.
However, the former member of the Celtic coaching staff can be proud of his efforts this season. Being a senior manager can very much be a tough role.
I am sure Duff will be aiming to build upon his experiences going into the new season in 2023. However, for now, he can be proud of his nomination for this award.
In other news, Breakdown of which Celtic stars contributed most to impressive 200-goal milestone.
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