John Kennedy reveals why Damien Duff decided to leave Celtic

John Kennedy reveals why Damien Duff decided to leave his coaching role at Celtic although he had the option to continue at Parkhead.

When it was announced that Damien Duff would be joining Stephen Kelly’s coaching staff for the Republic of Ireland national team, it was widely believed that he would also continue with his role at Celtic.

But as it turns out, that is not the case. As reported by BBC, it was confirmed earlier by Neil Lennon that Duff will be leaving his role at Parkhead to take a full-time role with Republic of Ireland.

Since then Celtic fans have been left questioning why Duff decided to suddenly leave when all signs till now had indicated that he would continue in both roles for the foreseeable future. As it turns out, it is not the pressure of the two simultaneous jobs that led to his decision but his young family.

Speaking with the Irish Mirror, Celtic assistant manager John Kennedy revealed that Duff had taken the decision with his family in mind:

"“Damien was a great addition to the coaching team. He was fully committed to Celtic.“But he has a young family who needed his support back home and he had to make a tough decision.”"

Duff had joined Celtic in January of 2019 as the reserve team coach but was promoted to a first-team role when Neil Lennon was appointed as interim manager following the unceremonious exit of Brendan Rodgers in the middle of the season in order to take at Leicester City.

Since then Duff had become an important part of Celtic’s coaching staff and his departure will clearly be a huge loss to the club. But if the Irishman has to leave his role in order to support his family, it is an understandable decision.

We would like to thank Duff for his contributions to the club and wish him the best of luck for his future.