Paul Fennessy reports from Dalymount Park

SHAMROCK ROVERS manager Stephen Bradley paid tribute to Damien Duff after it was confirmed on Sunday that the former Chelsea star had stepped down as Shelbourne manager.

The pair had been at odds this season, with Duff earlier this month accusing Bradley and Shamrock Rovers of showing a lack of class.

But Bradley put those issues behind him as he accentuated the positive aspects of his rival’s impact since becoming a League of Ireland manager in 2021.

“First of all, I am sad to see him leave Shelbourne and the league as a whole,” Bradley said after Rovers’ 2-0 loss to Bohemians last night.

“He’s obviously a good manager and coach, he’s a good person, and he is and was very, very good for the league. Sad to see him go, and hopefully he comes back in the league at some point.

“I’m sure he has his reasons for making the decision.

“If he’s made that decision, he obviously feels strong about it, so you’ve got to respect that.”

Bradley said he had not spoken to Duff since Sunday’s shock announcement.

Asked whether they would talk in time to try resolve their differences, the Hoops manager added: “That’s between me and Damien, when we’re in it, and we were in it, he will do everything to win for his team, and I will do everything to win for my team. And that will never change.

“There was lots in [the rift], but that’s not for me to talk about right now.”

Duff also fell out with Alan Reynolds during their time as opposing managers, but the Bohemians boss was similarly magnanimous in his praise for the ex-Ireland international.

“I don’t know the ins and outs of it, but I’m disappointed,” Reynolds said. “He’s been fantastic for the league, to go win a title after only a few years as a new manager [is impressive].

“I don’t think people realise the pressure of managing. It’s 24/7. You go away from the ground losing a game, and there’s no feeling like it.

“You try to describe to people how you’ve put in so much, it’s 24/7 all of the time, and it has an effect.

“We have had our different views and not a great relationship. We don’t know each other, but I’d still admire him from a distance.”

On the game itself, Reynolds lavished praise on his side after a deserved 2-0 victory against the league leaders.

“I was just talking to [former Bohs player and coach] Derek Pender. He said he hasn’t seen such a good 45 and he’s been here such a long time. I thought it was the best I’ve seen us without the ball, but I’m not surprised. With the ball, there were transitions when they lost the ball from us winning it back, we pressed and tried to score.

“Stevie O’Donnell [and the other coaching staff] are outstanding at what they do, and the information, we’re all on the same page about what we’re passing on. And that’s key.”

Reynolds also addressed the criticism he received from the club’s supporters after some disappointing results earlier in the season.

“I know our relationship [with the fans] has been fractured at times, but we’re in a good place now.

“I think the dressing room is really good, and I don’t have any doubts that the dressing room’s been behind me, even last year, when the results weren’t going well.”

Bradley, meanwhile, admitted his side had not been up to the standard required for a big Dublin derby, as they suffered a fifth defeat in six matches against Bohemians.

“First half we were miles off the game, a million miles off what’s required in any game but especially in this type of game, so as a result they were two up and could have been three or four to be honest, we were that far off the level, but that’s football.

“There are loads of factors that we have to try and understand why we were so far off it in that first half. You’ve got to credit Bohs, they were good but we were a million miles off it in every aspect, in every way, and you don’t win games of football in this league if you’re that far off the levels.”