Shels are back in action following the mid-season break on Friday night, at home to Galway United, the first of two league games on the calendar before their UEFA Europa Conference League ties with Gibraltar side St Joseph’s, the club’s first time to compete in Europe since 2006.
Duff says he has in the recent past seen evidence of players losing focus, such as before the 2022 FAI Cup final, and he insists he won’t let that happen again.
“When we were back in last Saturday, I referenced Europe for 30 seconds and I said it won’t be mentioned again,” Duff said.
“It’s always there at the back of your mind. We can’t afford to take our mind off anything. In the coming weeks and for the rest of the season. A prime example being the cup final in 2022, two weeks prior to it. Lads training, afraid to get injured. Probably not wanting to play the league games because they wanted to be fit for the cup final.
“The team ended up picking itself anyway. So lads could afford to take their foot off the pedal. We’re a different animal now. We’re a squad. A lot of competition in a lot of places in the team. So if guys want to have an eye on Europe and not put their body on the line, whether it be in training or league games, they won’t play in either. It’s very simple.
“They might have gotten away with it two years ago. Because like I said, there wasn’t a strength in depth. But this time, there is.”
Shels and Galway have both had a 1-0 win in their two meetings to date and Duff is an admirer of the Connacht club’s work ethic.
“They’re having an incredible season: brilliant staff, brilliant manager. Very, very dangerous players. I’ve openly said it to our guys this week, I always thought or would have said we’re the hardest working team in the league. The more I look at Galway, I’d maybe give that mantle to them. I think that proves how hard the task is. If we’re any way off, as in any other game, we’ll get found out,” Duff added.
Meanwhile, Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley is refusing to concede defeat in the title race despite his team’s slow start to the season. The Hoops went into the summer break a full 12 points behind leaders Shelbourne but Bradley feels that if they can get back their winning habit – starting on Friday night away to Sligo Rovers – they can be in the mix.
“Winning is not easy. When you’ve been successful as these players have been for a number of years, some people can become complacent or slightly arrogant with it. We know in here how hard it is to win, it’s difficult to win. Can we still win this year? I’ve no doubt in my mind that we can,” Bradley said.
“I believe in what this group has, what they are, so there’s no doubt we can win. But winning is extremely difficult and just because players have made it easy for so long, trust me it’s not easy. But there’s no doubt in my mind that we can still win the league this year.”
He also backed his side to get past Icelandic side Vikingur to progress in the Champions League., “There’s no doubt it’s a tough draw. We’ll look after it when it comes around. I’ve been over to watch them, they’re a good team as you’d expect the Icelandic champions to be. We saw Breidablik last year, they were a good team, this team is similar, so it’s a tough draw. But we’ll be in a better place with bodies and I’ve no doubt we’ve enough to get through the tie,” he added.