Brian Kerr didn't initially know whether or not Damien Duff would really take to the day-to-day demands of coaching young footballers.
Making strides at underage level with Shamrock Rovers, it has now become apparent that a move to the Scottish giants Celtic might be on the cards.
Speaking tonight on Virgin Media Sport, former teammate Keith Andrews confirmed that an offer had indeed been made to Duff. Considering the career trajectory of one of his former players, Kerr had been under the impression that the life he was living now may prove to alluring for such a move.
"I wasn't sure he would take to the coaching thing," Kerr admitted.
"He's been doing some media stuff, I thought he was quite happy doing a bit of that, a bit of coaching and living the bit of life as well."
Detailing the moves Damien Duff has made in these underage circles, Kerr is now of the opinion that the former Chelsea winger will make a serious go of it.
"I don't think he was enamoured by the attraction of being in the League of Ireland," Kerr reckoned.
"He initially did some work with the [Shamrock Rovers] first-team, but then he decided to take a step back from that and go into the underage.
"I think he's found something that's made him happy, made him ambitious and gives him comfort that he can spread a bit of Damien's gospel to young players about what's required to get to the next level.
It would now seem that Duff himself is preparing to make his own move onto that next level.
Admitting that Celtic retained an "allure" that has not been wholly diminished by their relative decline in a continental standing, Kerr isn't certain Duff will be leaving Ireland just yet.
However, in a rousing show of support for his former charge, Kerr believes it's only a matter of time until Duff reaches greater heights in the coaching world.
"I think he goes and he works and club level," Kerr stated while lining out Duff's potential path.
"He'll see whether he likes that environment. I think he has the intelligence, the experience and the ability to go on in the coaching game, if he wants to do it.
You can watch the full breakdown of the Damien Duff discussion below.
Damien Duff revealed this week he is in talks to join Celtic as a coach. Keith Andrews & Brian Kerr discuss:
▪️ Duff's coaching development.
▪️ The allure of Celtic.
▪️ Duff's comments on schoolboy football in Ireland.
▪️ Losing him from Irish football / LOI.#VMSport pic.twitter.com/UyMhMSF1BX— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) November 29, 2018
