HERE’S the crazy moment former Celtic coach Damien Duff dropped Jose Mourinho a line after guiding Shelbourne to a remarkable League of Ireland triumph.
Duff, who had a stint as first team coach at the Hoops under Neil Lennon, revealed in the afterglow of the title win how a video message from the Special One and some words from two Scotland rugby legends lay behind it.
5
5
5
He also turned to Colin Hakwins – a former teammate of Duff’s in the Ireland Under-20s after he and his wife were both diagnosed with cancer in the past number of years.
But when he attempted to get the Special One – his old gaffer with Chelsea – back on the line after the game, it proved a costly call.
That’s because the Portuguese managerial legend failed to pick up, costing him the promised ‘monkey’ [500 Euros] for his players’ drinking fund.
Duff said: “Here, it’s not as if I’m in touch with Jose. I’m not, it was through somebody and now I have his number.
Read More Football Stories
“I tried to ring him in the dressing room. I said to the lads that if he doesn’t pick up I’ll put a monkey on your drinking tab.
“Low and behold he didn’t pick up so I owe €500! I died on the pitch for Jose, that’s what I’ve always done.”
But he added: “I tell you guys a lot of stuff I do with the guys – you don’t know the half of it.
“I think we were laughed at for showing Only Fools and Horses, here I know how to run a dressing room and when to take the sting out of things.
“So even tonight, hats off, the players delivered on the pitch, the staff delivered.
“So I know when to tap into other people. It’s probably tiring listening to me over a season.
“I know when to use other people, the last three weeks you can say they gave us three assists.
“Jose Mourinho helped us as well, last week Colin Hawkins helped us – he came in and gave a speech, and the week before Sir Ian McGeechan the ex-manager of the Lions.
He added: “We have an Instagram page, there must be 150 posts on it now. We started it at the start of last season, it’s got tactical, training, shape, formation.
“And just over time it’s put motivational stuff, I might throw a joke into it, it’s just the players’ page, and there is a lot of learning in it.
“So any new player that comes in, they get a log in to the page and there is gold on it. Golden comedy, but golden learning as well.
“So three weeks ago, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday we posted Ian McGeechan – powerful, powerful speeches.
“It was either him or Jim Telfer, we use Jim Telfer as well, we like him a lot.
“I met Colin Hawkins in the carpark, I found him utterly inspirational, his story, his wife’s story, what they’ve been through.”
“And then on to this week, Joey again, ‘gaffer, what will we do?’ I dunno, I’m running out of ideas here.
“I threw in ‘what about Jose?’ ‘Why Jose?’ Because do I try and build, have we tried to build a siege mentality, us against the world like he did? Absolutely.
5
5
“It would be mad not to tap into him. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, there was posts on the Instagram page.
“Powerful lyrics, powerful words that would resonate and have a meaning to tie in for this game.
“Then 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. A video that was shown in the Everglades (Hotel) two hours before the game.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
“Again, people think I’m mad but I’m a proudly deep thinker. I don’t always get it right, the last three weeks myself and the staff I would like to think have got it right.
“We’ve been so calm and tapped into other people because I don’t think I’m any type of expert, I’m far from it.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
