DAMIEN DUFF admits his side are “massive underdogs” but wants to channel the spirit of the Brian Kerr Ireland underage teams he played with as Shelbourne look to cause an upset against FC Zurich in the Europa Conference League tomorrow night (kick-off: 6pm Irish time).
The Premier Division outfit face a side that finished fourth in the Swiss Super League last season and have a rich history.
They are the only Swiss team to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup on multiple occasions, doing so in 1964 and 1977.
The club have also won 13 league titles, the last of which was claimed in 2022.
The visitors will be without the suspended Sean Gannon, and Dean Williams has what Duff described as a “slight issue” though everyone else is available.
Elaborating on the reference to Kerr, Duff told reporters: “I’m a disciple of Brian and many of the managers that I had. The guys will be ready to go tactically. I guess it is about giving them belief, and I hope we can do that
“Belief is a massive thing, and then obviously motivating them emotionally and Brian was brilliant at all three of them. Coming away to Europe and being a massive underdog, all I thought about for the last couple of days was what Brian did with the Irish teams back in the day. If we can tap into that, we’ll be doing alright.”
While Duff has had two and a half years to work with his Shelbourne side, Ricardo Moniz has only been in charge of Zurich since last April.
And whereas the Dublin club are coming towards the business end of the campaign, their opponents only opened their league season on Saturday, registering a 2-0 win against Yverdon.
Duff says his staff have watched “all of their recent games” and praised Zurich’s “attacking quality” and ability to punish individual errors.
Meanwhile, captain Mark Coyle acknowledged that without wanting to disrespect first-round Gibraltarian opponents St Joseph’s, tomorrow evening’s game will be a step up in every respect.
The impressive Letzigrund stadium is also home to Grasshopper Club Zürich and has a capacity of 26,104.
“When you come to a place like this and you see the infrastructure around here, it does feel a lot more like Europe. I think of the work we’ve done over the last three years, this is what you want to be in and want to play in,” said Coyle.
Asked where these two legs ranked of the games he’s been involved in during his career, Coyle — while giving an honourable mention to the 2022 FAI Cup final — said it “probably is the top for me”.
Duff echoed those sentiments but insisted the squad would not get carried away by the occasion.
“We are not here for a holiday. We were offered to come [to the stadium] at six o’clock, the staff and players, to have a stadium walk around. I don’t know, to take photos and what have you. No, that’s holiday stuff. The guys are coming here at a quarter-to-seven, train, get out of here. That type of mentality isn’t welcome at Shelbourne.”
Such big occasions are where the Tolka Park outfit want to be and the game’s significance and what it means on a broader level is not lost on Duff.
“We are representing Shelbourne, of course, you are always representing your family, your friends, your wife, your kids. But you are representing the league. You are. You are representing your country.
“I was emotional in both games [against St Joseph's] because that’s the way I look at it. Tomorrow night and next Thursday we are representing an awful lot of people and a lot of people outside Shelbourne.
“We are Irish people. Granted, we have guys from England and Scotland, but they have Celtic blood. Some of them are adopted Irishmen.
“We want to put in a good show, but it’s not to put in or put on a gallant effort and go: ‘Ah well done,’ and ifs and buts. No.
“We are absolutely aiming and planning to get through to qualifying round three. It’s as simple as that. It’s not, as somebody referenced to me yesterday, a ‘free hit’. Again, it’s a poor phrase, I don’t like it. It’s not a free hit, it’s a two-game tie and we absolutely believe and are planning on getting through.”
And while most Zurich players won’t be familiar to Irish fans, one will be — Ireland U21 international Armstrong Oko-Flex, who Duff previously worked with at Celtic.
“I treated him exactly the way I treat Mark [Coyle],” the manager added. “He got 24/7 love, he got 24/7 coaching, I did all his individual clips all the time, I was always on his case, he was probably sick of me.
“I gave Armstrong a lot and he gave Celtic a lot. Sometimes in life, in football clubs, pathways are closed.
“All credit to him, he went off and he went his own way. He’s making an impact over here in Switzerland. So I have a lot of respect for him.”
