Duff 'not trying to calm players down' ahead of Dublin derby

Walking out in front of a sold-out Tolka Park is something Damien Duff and his Shelbourne charges will have been itching to do all week. 

A 1-1 draw at promoted Waterford on matchday one last Friday night will have left players, staff and supporters alike yearning for more, even at this very early stage of the Premier Division campaign.

Look no further than Friday night's visitors. Four-in-a-row league winners Shamrock Rovers are in town. The first Dublin derby of the season. Damien Duff v Stephen Bradley. 

What more is needed to whet the appetite for League of Ireland fare in the capital? 

Duff - who played and coached at Rovers from 2015 to 2018 - is negotiating the art of fine-tuning his Shels players in the lead-up to what is a huge occasion. 

"You always try to speak to them in some way emotionally, whether it be trying to motivate them, i.e. UCD," former Irish international Duff said. "Rovers, do you take the sting out of it? 

"But then sometimes you might take the sting out of it too much and they're too calm. So I guess it's always smelling the room. 

"Here it's the biggest attendance at Tolka Park since 2006...so I think it speaks volumes about; A: where the League is at and; B: where Shelbourne Football Club is at. 

"It's up to us to figure out between now and Friday how to speak to them but I'm not trying to calm them down because if anything last Friday was a bit too calm for me so I'll be going the other way."

With Shels currently in negotiations with Dublin City Council about the future of their current stadium, Duff is evidently very fond of the club's Drumcondra site. It's like home for the fans, and those within the club as well.

"It's our home, it's Shelbourne FC's home, we are calling it Dublin's