‘I’m sure he has something lined up’ – Damien Duff expects old pal Keane to be back in football soon and hits out at FAI process

On Thursday, the Irish Independent revealed that Keane was walking away following his league winning campaign with Maccabi, a decision heavily influenced by the situation in Israel.

Duff did not want to get drawn into political discussion, but said that he had reached out to Keane to congratulate him on his success on the field and expects that he will be back in the game soon.

Daniel McDonnell and Aidan O’Hara review Friday night’s League of Ireland action as leaders Shelbourne found a way past Dundalk while Waterford maintained their excellent run of form

“I texted him congratulations, amazing what he’s done,” said Duff, “I don’t think they’ve won the league in four or five years.

“He’s not silly either. I’m sure he has something lined up. Listen, if it’s the political route (he is being asked about), I’m not going down that. I’ve obviously supported him all season. I’ve got my FotMob app and I follow six or seven teams and they’re one of them. I’m really, really pleased for him and absolutely intrigued and interested to see where he ends up next.”

That is not expected to be with Ireland, given the sensitivities around Keane’s decision to work in Israel. His own recent history with the FAI is slightly complicated too, given that he was on the payroll without doing any work after Stephen Kenny sidelined him – ironically to make way for Duff.

Duff swerved a question on whether the FAI should call Keane and instead reiterated his disdain for the Abbotstown manager hunt.

“Who knows?” he said. “I think I heard the process being mentioned. I went to Celtic and I interviewed for four-five hours for the job (in their coaching set-up) and I got it the next day.

“Their process has been going on for eight, nine months. Mine took a day to get one of the biggest coaching jobs in the world. There’s a marked difference in how they both do their work.”