Duff is his own worst enemy
DAMIEN DUFF admits the pressure he has put on himself to succeed during his career has made him ill.
The new Shelbourne head coach has revealed he will take a leaf out of former boss Jose Mourinho’s book by creating a siege mentality among the newlypromoted squad in order to survive relegation.
Republic of Ireland legend Duff, who won two Premier League titles with Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, feels the lessons learned will stand him in good stead ahead of his first campaign as a senior manager.
“I’ve been in touch with him once or twice,” he said.
“When I move on, I go – there are not many people I’ve kept in touch with. It’s like passing ships in the night, isn’t it?
“Subconsciously I got that from him. I know that if had an issue he would be there for me.
“It’s where I got that siege mentality, building a group because there is one thing for sure, next year we won’t have the biggest budget.
“Are we going to have the best squad? Probably not. That’s where you are going to have to have best mentality.
“That doesn’t cost money, it’s application and belief and it will be up to the staff to build it.
“The pressure thing is uncomfortable but I’ve had it since I was a kid.
“It’s potentially made me ill at times. I can be hard on myself.
“I know I don’t switch off so even as a player, it probably won’t have been good for me but I keep coming back to that ultra focus.
“That’s the one thing you miss when you retire, it’s 24/7 focus, that’s all.
“I realise that to get to any level or be successful it has to be 24/7 with that focus and detail, detail, detail.
“That’s what the top guys bring.”