Damien Duff is bringing Shelbourne to the “next level” - according to Reds legend and Duff’s former Ireland Under-20 World Cup teammate Richie Baker.
Baker was heartbroken to see his former side in the wilderness for so long.
But having played with Duff and watched him progress up the coaching ladder - along with some insights from close friends - he believes the Tolka Park side is in good hands.
Baker (42), now director of football with Dundrum side Rosemount Mulvey, had three spells at Shels and won four league titles and an FAI Cup with the Drumcondra outfit.
He said: “My brother in law Graham Barrett, his young lad Cian is at Shelbourne. Duffer brought him across (from Shamrock Rovers).
“Even when Duffer was at Rovers, the training he did with the kids, the dedication, the professionalism, he knows what he wants, he is bringing it to the next level.
“It’s great that he is in there and putting his stamp on it. He has brought the club up a level.
“He has shown what he can do. He has brought them to the Cup final in his first year. We have a great chance this weekend.”
Baker first got to know Duff in 1999 when the pair were teammates at the Under-20 World Cup in Nigeria.
“We had Damien, Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne, Jason Gavin, Barry Quinn; we had a big team then, a really good squad,” he said.
“I got called in late for that one. But it was a fantastic call from Brian Kerr. I actually thought it was one of the lads messing.
“I actually said on the phone when he rang me, ‘Go on out of that, will you stop messing’. I just thought it was the lads from Shels.
“It was like (mimics Kerr), ‘Richie, you’re in the squad, you need to get them vaccinations done’.
“The lads were getting them over a number of weeks - you get two here and two there. But I had to go down and get the whole lot done together.
“But it was amazing in the end when I found out it was really him.”
As for their time in Nigeria, wins against Saudi Arabia and Australia sent Ireland through to the last-16, where they were beaten on penalties by the hosts.
Baker, an FAI Cup winner with Shels in 2000 when they saw off Bohemians in a replay, will be at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday cheering on his former club.
“It’s great to see them back at the top,” he said. “Back in the day, in the late 90s and early 2000s, we were the biggest thing since sliced bread.
“For such a big club, for so long dominating the league, to fall the way it did was heartbreaking.
“I’d always say, even to my own kids now, that Shelbourne is always going to be the team I support in the League of Ireland.
“It has done so much for me and I wouldn't be the person I am today without Shels.
“From the time Mick Neville brought me in and I did the FAS course and signed with Ollie (Byrne), that changed my life.
“I always wanted to be a professional footballer. All I can say is thanks to Shels for that.
“It’s just amazing to see where they are now. I am buzzing that they are back in the Premier Division and they can show that they can stay up there with the big boys.
“Hopefully they can walk off the pitch next Sunday holding the cup.”
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