DAMIEN DUFF HAS often spoken of his desire to end his playing career in the League of Ireland, and it looks like that’s going to happen very soon.
The 36-year-old winger is currently playing for Melbourne City in Australia’s A-League, but his one-year contract expires at the end of the season.
Duff spoke to Tony O’Donoghue tonight on RTE’s Soccer Republic programme, and he was asked if he still plans to taste SSE Airtricity League action before hanging up his boots.
“The only flight I’ll be taking now is back home to Dublin,” said Duff, who was capped 100 times by the Republic of Ireland. “I’ve enjoyed my time here in Australia but I think Ireland will be my next port of call, yeah.
“I’ll be home now in the summer — end of April, early May — and I’ll be home for good then, so I’ll be looking for a job. So yeah, that’s the plan.”
The A-League’s regular season is scheduled to end on the final weekend in April, and Melbourne City are outside the play-off places at the moment.
If they fail to make the cut for the post-season, Duff will be a free agent and available to sign with a new club before May begins, something that’s sure to spark the interest of plenty of League of Ireland managers.
Clearly nothing has been learnt from giving Eddie O’Sullivan a new contract prior to the World Cup.
Too many Munster blazers in the IRFU