Damien Duff looks to 'Kerr's kids' for inspiration in Zurich

Shelbourne manager Damien Duff is taking inspiration from former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr as he prepares his side to take on FC Zurich in the UEFA Conference League.

Duff's team are underdogs going into the first leg of the second qualifying round in Switzerland but the Shels boss believes his side can cause a major upset.

While Duff has played under some of the biggest managers in the game, it’s Kerr that he’s looking to emulate, drawing on the achievements of the Ireland underage teams of the late 90s.

Duff was an integral part of the 'Kerr’s Kids’ squads of that era and he’s hoping that Shels can cause the same level of upset that Ireland’s youth teams did under Kerr.

"It's a very difficult task, it's as hard a game as you can get, but it's a task that I'm relishing. I can't wait," Duff said.

"All we've done in the league for two and a half years, I think, has been upsetting people and upsetting the apple cart. Now it's time to take that to Europe and to the rest of the world.

"This game made me think of Brian Kerr all those years ago. Massive underdogs as underage teams for Ireland and he just took them on. If we can channel half of what Brian used to bring to underage Irish teams, we'll be doing alright.

"I'm a disciple of Brian, and a disciple of many of the managers I've had, so the guys will be ready to go, I hope, tactically. Then it's, I guess, about giving them belief. I hope we can do that, because belief is a massive thing.

"Then obviously it’s just motivating them emotionally. Brian was brilliant with all three of them, so like I said, coming away to Europe and being a massive underdog, all I've thought about really for the last couple of days is what Brian did with the Irish teams back today."

Zurich