A familiar face for Newcastle United fans will form part of Brentford's coaching staff next season.
Former Newcastle United and Chelsea winger Damien Duff has returned to the Premier League after being named as new assistant head coach at Brentford.
The two-time Premier League winner joined the Magpies during the summer of 2006 after enjoying a successful spell at Stamford Bridge - but injuries and inconsistency meant he rarely replicated that form on Tyneside. Duff also suffered the ignominy of scoring the own goal in a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa that relegated Newcastle from the top flight on the final day of the 2008/09 season. The Republic of Ireland international did score on the opening day of the Championship season three months later as Chris Hughton’s United battled to a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion before departing for Fulham just days later.
A five-year stay at Craven Cottage came to an end when Duff joined Australian A-League club Melbourne City before bringing down the curtain on his playing career with Irish club Shamrock Rovers in 2015. After spending time on the coaching staff at Shamrock, Celtic and the Republic of Ireland, Duff moved into management with Shelbourne in 2021 and guided the Reds to the League of Ireland Premier Division title three years later and lifted the President of Ireland’s Cup at the start of the following season.
Duff stepped down from his role last summer and spent time working as a FIFA technical advisor at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar - but he will now return to the touchline after being named as number two to former Republic of Ireland team-mate Keith Andrews at Brentford.
Bees head coach Andrews told the club website: “I’ve known Damien for a long time. 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.”
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