In football management these days you’re lucky if you get 30 days, so 30 years is not too bad

IT is now 30 years since Jim Duffy entered the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest manager in Britain. When the-then 29-year-old was handed the reins at First Division Falkirk in 1988, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, Ronald Reagan was still in the White House and film fans were flocking in their droves to watch Bruce Willis battling bad guys in Die Hard.

For Duffy, it was the start of his very own action-packed adventure; one that’s seen him take charge at Dundee (twice), Hibernian, Norwich City (as caretaker), Brechin City, Clyde and now Morton.

But it was as a player at Celtic in 1979 that Duffy’s footballing journey truly began, after the promising young defender from Maryhill was signed by Billy McNeill.

Despite captaining the reserve side to two unbeaten seasons, Duffy was unable to make a top-team breakthrough at Parkhead. However, he did go on to enjoy a distinguished career at Morton — where he was voted Player of the Year by his fellow professionals in 1985 — and at Dundee and Partick Thistle before a knee injury forced him to make his start in football management earlier than intended.

On Saturday, the hugely-respected Duffy returns to Celtic Park with the Greenock side for a Scottish Cup quarter-final — and the passage of three decades in the dugout has not dimmed the fire that still burns brightly inside the 58-year-old.

Yet, no matter what transpires against the Glasgow giants this weekend, the long-serving boss will always be grateful to the club where it all started for him.

‘I’m delighted to still be involved in management. In football management these days you are lucky if you get 30 days, so 30 years is not too bad,’ Duffy told Sportsmail.

‘I’m absolutely thrilled to be going to Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup on Saturday. I’ve got the same excitement that I had when I took my first job in management.

‘I’m looking forward to taking part in a fantastic occasion for my team. I love going to big venues. I love big challenges. The adrenaline is still pumping through my veins.

‘I’ve never been one for looking back. I believe that in life you should always look forward. I certainly don’t sit and cry in my bed at night and think “woe is me” about my playing days at Celtic.

‘I met some really good people at Celtic and made some really good friends. It was an education for me.

‘I am eternally grateful to big Billy for giving me the chance to be a professional footballer. Without him taking a chance on me, I would never have been a football player.

‘He gave me a platform to be involved in football and that has allowed me to have football in my blood for the rest of my life, to this very day as a player, a coach and a manager.’

Duffy harbours major hopes of masterminding a minor managerial miracle against Brendan Rodgers’ Scottish champions in Saturday’s last-eight clash.

Given his side’s performances in big matches during his near four-year tenure at Cappielow, he can be confident his players will not freeze at Celtic Park.

The next 48 hours may be a different matter, however, as the Morton boss spent yesterday frantically seeking indoor training facilities for his squad as the Beast from the East storm battered Scotland.

‘It’s not ideal,’ he admitted. ‘There are only two full indoor pitches in the west of Scotland, at Ravenscraig and Toryglen.

‘You can’t prepare the same, doing shape and organisational work. And we couldn’t do work on the Celtic game beforehand because we played Livingston on Tuesday night. But the weather’s the weather.

‘What can you do? Not a lot. All you can do is make sure the players tick over, really. We’ve shown in recent times, though, that we can compete against really good sides.

‘We did well last season at Hampden against Aberdeen (eventually losing 2-0 in the League Cup semi-final) and we did well in games against Rangers (in the Scottish Cup) and Hibs (in the Championship). But Celtic are a level above everyone in Scotland.’

Duffy rubbed shoulders with Rodgers when the pair were both shortlisted for last season’s PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award, which was eventually won by the all-conquering Invincible Treble-winning Celtic boss.

The pair also enjoyed a cup of tea at Lennoxtown last May as they discussed Morton’s on-loan Celtic players Aidan Nesbitt and Jamie Lindsay, now at MK Dons and Ross County respectively.

Duffy and Rodgers’ working relationship also allowed the Greenock club to take goalkeeper Ross Doohan on loan from Parkhead from August until January. The Morton boss has huge respect for the Northern Irishman and is baffled at recent criticism of Celtic after their Europa League exit to Zenit St Petersburg and the dropping of points domestically.

‘I admire the job Brendan has done at Celtic,’ he said. ‘I’m surprised when people criticise Celtic. Their record is phenomenal. Do they expect perfection?

‘I also don’t understand the criticism of Aberdeen after losing to Celtic last Sunday. Celtic should beat Aberdeen!

‘I just think that we Scots are a negative race at times. It’s far easier to criticise than it is to praise. But the bottom line is that Celtic are the benchmark for everyone in Scotland. There’s no doubt about that.

‘People have tried various ways to combat them but very few have succeeded. But as a manager you have to be as positive as you can be. This is the biggest challenge my players are going to face, certainly this year, maybe in their careers.

‘We just need to go and grab that opportunity and see how close we can get to the levels that Celtic play at. All you can do, really, is accept the challenge in front of you and then do the very best you can.’

Duffy has made Morton a decent Championship side, leading them into the play-off places in recent weeks following a five-match unbeaten league run which was only halted by Livingston earlier this week.

So where would a cup shock against Celtic rate on the scale of his achievements in 30 years since becoming a manager in 1988; a career that includes taking Dundee to the Scottish Cup final in 2003 when they lost narrowly 1-0 to Rangers.

‘Where would it rank in my career? I don’t have a gauge,’ he laughed. ‘Different football clubs have different targets, different resources, and different ambitions.

‘Some clubs simply want to survive; the financial aspect can sometimes be more important than the footballing aspect.

‘It’s hard to equate one single game with another match. So where a victory, or a defeat, would rank is not something I think about.

‘For me, it’s always about the next game and the next challenge. And it doesn’t get any tougher than Celtic away in the Scottish Cup.’