Damien Duff lands first Premier League coaching job ahead of 2026/27 season

Brentford have announced the arrival of ex-Chelsea and Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff as assistant manager.

Duff, who has been away from football since leaving his role as Shelbourne manager last year, will link up with Brentford boss and fellow Irishman Keith Andrews at the Premier League club.

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The pair will be tasked with improving on last season’s ninth-placed league finish with the Bees having missed out on European qualification on the final day of the season.

Andrews and Duff previously worked together in the coaching set-up for Ireland with Duff having recently spent time at the west London club alongside the Brentford manager.

“I’ve known Damien for a long time,” Andrews told the club’s official website.

“I’ve seen him up close throughout his coaching journey. We’ve been on courses together and worked together as coaches with the Republic of Ireland national team.

“Damien will bring experience, presence and a real level of detail to our coaching department. He will add to the great group we already have and I’m very pleased that he is joining us.”

Duff heroically led Shelbourne to the League of Ireland title in 2024 but was unable to steer the club to the same heights the following season, leading to his surprise departure.

It was Shelbourne’s first title in 18 years, coming just three years after gaining promotion to the top flight.

He described the title win as the ‘pinnacle of his career’ amid a host of standout highlights.

After launching his senior career at Blackburn, Duff signed for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2003 in a £17million deal.

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He went on to win two Premier League titles and the League Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Immediately following Shelbourne’s title success, Duff spoke of Mourinho’s influence on his side’s triumph.

“We try to build a siege mentality, against the world, like Mourinho did,” he said.

“So today in the team meeting there was a private message from Jose, speaking about what it takes to win a title as a team, as an individual, and it blew the guys away.

“I died on the pitch for Jose. Everyone hated Chelsea, everyone hates us, it just tied in nicely, it felt right.”

Duff clocked up over 600 appearances during his career including 100 caps for his country.

Following his three-year stint at Chelsea, Duff signed for Newcastle before later returning to west London with Fulham.

He brought the curtain down on his career with a short spell at Melbourne City before ending his career back in his homeland with Shelbourne.

After announcing his retirement in 2015, Duff moved into coaching and was handed his first opportunity with Shamrock Rovers before joining Andrews in the national team set-up in a similar role.

The ex-Ireland wide man went on to become first-team coach at Celtic, and helped guide the club to a domestic treble in the 2019/20 season.