Damien Duff spoke to OTB AM about his approach to young players with big egos, saying that he takes a 'very tough' approach to those players who err into arrogance.
Damien was speaking to us as part of his promotion of the autism charity As I Am which is calling for members of the public to take part in their Keepie Uppie Challenge to help raise awareness of the condition. He is also the under-15 National League head coach at Shamrock Rovers.
"I would be very tough [in dealing with the egos of young players]. To be fair, I am lucky - I get to meet players before I sign them anyway - so if there is any hint, then I will not sign them. If you have an ego at fifteen, you would be worried about their career. I have seen plenty already, both when I was and wasn't involved in the Irish under-15s. There would be young lads smelling themselves. It's not possible. Well, it is possible because I saw it.
"I just could never fathom it. I'd like to think that I am still the same 16 year old that left for England twenty-five years ago. Whereas now, you see players bowling around like they've had one hell of a career. It's sad, but I just like to nip it in the bud and be fair with them."
Damien is a big believer in the holistic approach to player development at Rovers.
"I like to develop them on and off the pitch. If they are not going to be a good footballer, then I would like to think that I have impacted their life off the pitch in some way; some manners, responsibility, some standards as little as cleaning up after themselves.
Duff is not entirely convinced that it is the presence of other field sports that have seemingly halted quality young footballers coming through, rather believing that the technological distractions that young people faced have coalesced to create the situation we see today. Without such distractions, he, Robbie Keane and Shay Given were able to maximise their opportunities.
"Gaelic and rugby was always there. There would be a push now with the rugby doing so well. That's all I did, was play football - I lived on the street. People are probably saying 'Duffer, feck off - here we go again talking about it,' but I didn't get coached as a kid - I just spent my childhood on the street. You don't see that any more.
"The coaching that you get now is the icing on the cake. The foundation is on the street. Open any world star's autobiography: the opening chapter is that they spent their whole childhood on the street, playing football. It's not rocket science, and it's what I'm always trying to relay to my players, but I don't think people grasp it."
All that and more on this morning's OTB AM live in association with Screwfix.ie, and as usual you can get your comments and thoughts into us on Facebook by following Off The Ball.
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