Paul Fennessy reports from Dalymount Park

SHELBOURNE BOSS Damien Duff says Friday night’s clash between his side and Bohemians was “the biggest game in Dublin this weekend”.

In the post-match huddle, a visiting Talksport journalist quizzed the former Ireland player and coach about whether he would tune in for today’s Nations League fixture or prefer to watch back his team’s 1-1 draw at Dalymount Park.

“Of course, you look back and learn, you learn an awful lot post-matches,” Duff said. “The Ireland game, here I might watch it, I might not. I can never get a ticket, I’m not welcome down there.

“The most important thing for me is watching the game back. People are going to think I’m stir-crazy but it’s the biggest game in Dublin this weekend, not England v Ireland, I’m guessing that’s why you’re here. But Shelbourne-Bohs because it has a fire, an edge, a meaning, a heart and a soul whereas tomorrow night it’s just an interesting game. Tonight was the biggest game in Dublin. Call me stir-crazy if you want.”

Pressed on whether watching Ireland still had some meaning and sentimental value having won 100 caps for the country, Duff explained: “I’ve said in recent weeks, what’s done is done, what’s gone in the past.

“I’m a manager now, a coach. I’m trying to make myself better day in and day out, and the most exciting bit about football this weekend was this, not tomorrow night. I’ll be supporting Ireland. I’m as passionate as anyone, but this was the most important bit.”

When asked whether he tried to get a ticket for today’s match at the Aviva Stadium, Duff replied: “Ehhh… In a roundabout way but, here, I make a joke, it would have been nice to bring [my son] Woody but I’ll just watch it at home.”

Speaking more generally, Duff said he was enjoying life as a manager and hailed his side for exceeding expectations this season as they sit four points clear at the top of the Premier Division with seven games remaining following their “very good point against a very good side”.

The former Chelsea star continued: “Everyone in the league and probably the [journalists] here beside you thought I’d do a runner after six to eight weeks or six to eight months in the first year. I’m still here. I’m an emotional guy, the day I don’t enjoy it, I’ll go home, I’ll do something else.

“You put us in the top three budgets if you want to go down that route. I’d say we’re five or six. Your homework is probably better than mine, but we’re nowhere near the top three or four. We’re not. What the guys are doing is absolutely incredible.”

Despite their lofty position in the table, Shelbourne have been through a rough patch form-wise lately, winning only one of their last six league fixtures.

And Duff revealed words from his father helped galvanise the squad ahead of last week’s upturn in fortune against Dundalk.

“I’ve seen a real marked difference [in the squad] in the last couple of weeks. They had their own private meeting. They came to me with bullet points. We made it into a banner. It’s in there. You might say it’s a one percenter or a half percenter. It all adds up. We’ve had some honest chats.

“My dad was a big part of the team talk last week, which prodded them. I won’t say what he said. It annoyed them. So sometimes you can tell people ‘guys you’re great’. Sometimes you can try to annoy players to get more and my dad played a big part in the three points last week at Oriel Park believe it or not.

“He asked me something very personal. Something which I passed on to the guys that I knew that they wouldn’t be happy with but I knew would prod them immensely. It’s a phrase that we used last week and we’ll use it to the end of the season. Outside of that, you won’t get anything more.

“He’s a footballing genius, maybe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I’d like to think we’re all half-decent coaches in the staff room as well but we’re always looking to prod guys, plant seeds, make them angry, make them happy, give them love, give them a kick up the behind. And you can take it from anywhere, sometimes you can take it from your dad.”