Shelbourne manager Damien Duff and (inset) owner Acun Ilicali
Irish directors of Shelbourne have entered talks with the club’s majority owners, the Turkish backers of Hull City, with a view to buying out their stake due to a drastic difference of opinion around the future of manager Damien Duff.
Turkish media magnate Acun Ilicali became the principle shareholder of the Tolka Park club in June, paying a figure in the region of €3m to take a 60pc share in the League of Ireland side.
But independent.ie has learned that the relationship could prove to be short lived with Irish investors led by Mickey O’Rourke, the founder of Premier Sports amongst other ventures, seeking to take back control in order to keep hold of Duff.
Damien Duff goes wild celebrating with Shelbourne fans after late win over St Patrick’s Athletic
The Shels boss cast doubt on his future last Friday in a remarkable post-match interview in Drogheda where he said that he had no idea what was happening behind the scenes. His contract is up and the former Irish international has also been unable to offer deals to players that he wants to keep.
It’s understood that some discussions about Duff’s contract have taken place in recent months but the Dubliner has been perturbed by the impact of the Turkish takeover in terms of how it has affected his control over recruitment matters – and he was keen for assurances in this department before committing.
While Hull loanees Harry Wood and Will Jarvis were a massive success, it’s believed that influential Turkish voices wanted Duff to look outside the Irish market this winter.
Today’s Sport News in 90 Seconds – 8th November
But the broader issue is that the disharmony threatened Duff’s position, with the reluctance to tie down the 44-year-old as a matter of urgency creating the impression that they were open to replacing him.
When Hull initially came into the Irish market to look at investing in Dundalk, comments from their boss Liam Rosenior indicated that alignment of playing styles would be a part of any vision. Duff would be resistant to input of that nature.
More pertinently, Shels’ Irish directors feel that Duff has been central to their resurgence, with every player interviewed in the aftermath of their fourth placed finish echoing that point.
The prospect of Duff being lost to the club has convinced the locals to hold talks with the Turkish owners that would see the reins return to Irish hands.
They are expected to accelerate across this week with a view to reaching a conclusion. Ilicali arrived with great fanfare, holding a press conference at the Aviva Stadium to mark his arrival and lay down targets for the future. But the willingness to enter discussions about an exit suggests that Shels could swiftly be moving on to another new chapter.
