Duff impressed with new additions
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Damien Duff's long season continued in the RDS on Tuesday when he played for 77 minutes of Ireland's friendly against Paraguay. The Ballyboden man has been praised for his performances at both international and club level during the past 12 months, with many crediting Fulham boss Roy Hodgson for his apparent resurgence in form.
There has been a good deal of talk in the English media regarding a potential move for Hodgson away from Craven Cottage, but Duff is hopeful that the former Switzerland supremo will stay where is, as he feels that he has unfinished business with the London club.
“Definitely, yeah. He's done a great job so far, I think there's an awful lot more to do. I'd say he's got unfinished business there, and I think he can go from strength to strength, so I hope he'll stay. Obviously, I've been with him this season, probably started off in the first team with him 12, 13 years ago (at Blackburn), so I've always thought the world of him”, stated Duff.
“It's great working with him, and anyone that has worked with him will tell you he's a top coach. He's great, you can see what he's done with the team this season. You can see by his CV, the teams he's managed. He's managed Inter Milan twice, so you can't say anymore”.
By this stage, Duff is considered to be one of the veterans in the side, and he feels that the new players in the squad, like Keith Fahey and James McCarthy, will have plenty to offer to Giovanni Trapattoni for the upcoming campaign.
“I've played against him (Fahey) earlier on in the season, and I was impressed by him. Like other players, particularly James McCarthy who can't be here this week, I like the look of him as well. Hopefully there'll be more to come from a lot of the lads”.
On the two goals that the Republic got on the night, Duff revealed that the first one was something they had worked on during training, while the second one was, he felt, a brilliantly worked goal.
“Yeah, the first one was a set-piece from myself. Wasn't even the best ball, but it was straight from the training ground. Lucky enough it worked, and the second was a great goal I thought. A great ball by Kellers (Stephen Kelly) into Doyler (Kevin Doyle), a chest down and a great finish from Liam (Lawrence). So we're well pleased with that”.
The 31 year-old went on to say that he picked up another knock on his troublesome calf, but said that he would be fine for Friday's game against Algeria, and was looking forward to getting a winning run going.
“It's a good win for us, so we're looking forward to Friday already. There's probably a target sign on my calves at the minute, I nearly missed the (Europa League) final because of that, but the most important thing was getting back winning. It's good confidence for the team to have a winning mentality”, Duff concluded.
There has been a good deal of talk in the English media regarding a potential move for Hodgson away from Craven Cottage, but Duff is hopeful that the former Switzerland supremo will stay where is, as he feels that he has unfinished business with the London club.
“Definitely, yeah. He's done a great job so far, I think there's an awful lot more to do. I'd say he's got unfinished business there, and I think he can go from strength to strength, so I hope he'll stay. Obviously, I've been with him this season, probably started off in the first team with him 12, 13 years ago (at Blackburn), so I've always thought the world of him”, stated Duff.
“It's great working with him, and anyone that has worked with him will tell you he's a top coach. He's great, you can see what he's done with the team this season. You can see by his CV, the teams he's managed. He's managed Inter Milan twice, so you can't say anymore”.
By this stage, Duff is considered to be one of the veterans in the side, and he feels that the new players in the squad, like Keith Fahey and James McCarthy, will have plenty to offer to Giovanni Trapattoni for the upcoming campaign.
“I've played against him (Fahey) earlier on in the season, and I was impressed by him. Like other players, particularly James McCarthy who can't be here this week, I like the look of him as well. Hopefully there'll be more to come from a lot of the lads”.
On the two goals that the Republic got on the night, Duff revealed that the first one was something they had worked on during training, while the second one was, he felt, a brilliantly worked goal.
“Yeah, the first one was a set-piece from myself. Wasn't even the best ball, but it was straight from the training ground. Lucky enough it worked, and the second was a great goal I thought. A great ball by Kellers (Stephen Kelly) into Doyler (Kevin Doyle), a chest down and a great finish from Liam (Lawrence). So we're well pleased with that”.
The 31 year-old went on to say that he picked up another knock on his troublesome calf, but said that he would be fine for Friday's game against Algeria, and was looking forward to getting a winning run going.
“It's a good win for us, so we're looking forward to Friday already. There's probably a target sign on my calves at the minute, I nearly missed the (Europa League) final because of that, but the most important thing was getting back winning. It's good confidence for the team to have a winning mentality”, Duff concluded.
About Daire Walsh
Daire Walsh began reporting for Extratime in 2009, when he covered Kildare County's games in the League Of Ireland First Division. He currently reports on games involving the league's Dublin sides and also Bray Wanderers. … View Full Profile