FORMER Celtic coach Damien Duff has revealed his biggest take-away from his spell in Scotland.
And it’s NOT the two sets of treble winners medals he helped coach the Hoops to.
Duff, now boss of Irish league side Shelbourne, spent a season and a half with the club between 2019 and the end of season 2019-20.
He worked alongside Neil Lennon and John Kennedy as they took the team to a second nine-in-a-row league title sequence.
But while such historic medals are cherished alongside his English Premier League double the winger won with Chelsea, Duff has another big benefit from working in glasgow.
I have learned a lot on the Lennoxtown training ground but boosted his personal life off the field too.
It’s something he has carried back with him to Ireland – and still provides strong support today.
His dog, Bella.
Relaxing away from the pitch they share plenty of walks to get away from it all and that home comfort is just as important as the coaching class I garnered.
Duff said: “I guess I had a couple of amazing things I brought back from Glasgow.
“I got a crammed football education in two years, I brought home a couple of league medals, a couple of cup medals, and on a pair with all that is Bella.”
It’s fair to say the springer spaniel has changed his outlook on life too.
Damien Duff gets Shelbourne fan to deliver teamtalk after win over St Patrick’s Athletic
Speaking to the Irish Independent he added: “I was always afraid of dogsI would run away, but probably sometimes the best thing is to go get a dog and she’s my best mate.
“She’s a soft Glaswegian, she doesn’t like the wind, the rain, or the snow. “She just likes cuddles and being petted.”
Shelbourne are top of the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland with 25 points after 13 games.
They saw off St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday night to extend their reign at the top.
But Duff insists there is no let up after a big win.
He added: “My favorite bit is being out on the grass, but you’re on a laptop 24/7 now.
“On Monday, post-match will be delivered on [St Patrick’s]. Usually Joey O’Brien does the post-match.
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“But the laptop will have to be turned on [this weekend]because to plan the sessions, you don’t just go out and play 5-a-side, planning a session can take a couple of hours.
“We don’t have an analyst, we don’t want one, we’d rather do it ourselves. So will I switch off? No, but that’s the way I like it.”
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