Shelbourne full-back Sean Gannon has lined out under some of the biggest names in League of Ireland history.
Sean Gannon reckons Shelbourne’s title-winning manager Damien Duff is up there with some of the greatest managers in League of Ireland history. The Reds defender counts himself lucky enough to have played under Michael O’Neill, Liam Buckley, Stephen Kenny, Stephen Bradley and now Duff during his glittering career so far.
Between them, they have won 14 Premier Division crowns - and Gannon has been around for 11 of those, although he doesn’t count O’Neill’s first with Shamrock Rovers as he only played once that season. Despite that, the defender’s official haul of 10 winners’ medals is three more than previous record holders Owen Heary and Johnny Matthews. So when it comes to assessing the quality of managers in the League of Ireland, Gannon is as good an authority as any. A former Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick’s Athletic, Dundalk full-back, he was asked to compare his current boss Duff with his former managers.“Not to say that other managers aren’t, but he could send you a video at 11 o’clock at night, just on your game and on small improvements. “He is constantly there, he is 24/7, no matter what you need. He would pick up the phone to you - how’s life, how’s things? “Every manager does that, I suppose, so I’m not saying he’s different in that regard. But he is so passionate about us as a group. He is always telling us he loves us. “But don’t get me wrong, if we are not pulling our weight, he’ll quickly let us know. It’s hard to really pinpoint what is different between the managers you named there. “They are probably the greatest managers to manage in the league, so I am very fortunate who I have played under, and I still have a good relationship with them all.” As for where Ireland legend Duff can go in his career as a manager, Gannon said: “I think he can take it as far as he really wants. “Obviously in his head he wants us challenging for leagues and multiple tournaments, FAI Cups, he wants to be in the mix for everything. “He’s only been here a short space of time and you see they’ve gone from First Division to a Cup final to Europe to league champions. It’s constant progression with him.“I think the club is in an unbelievable place at the moment, which is great to see, because there are brilliant people all around.“I’d be foolish to put a ceiling on where he could take this club, but I know that however long it takes, challenging for leagues and European group stages will definitely be the ambition.”
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