Damien Duff confirms League of Ireland plans

The 2015 SSE Airtricity League season received a huge boost on Monday night when former Irish international star Damien Duff confirmed that he will be hoping to finish his career in the League of Ireland when he returns home from Australia in the next few months.

Speaking to RTE's Tony O'Donoghue on Soccer Republic, Duff, who was capped 100 times for his country, was asked whether he would be following former international colleagues Robbie Keane, Sean St. Ledger, and possibly Kevin Doyle across the Atlantic to the American MLS.

"The only flight I'll be taking will be back home to Dublin", was Duff's unambiguous reply, prompting O'Donoghue to enquire as to whether Duff still hoped to achieve his long-stated ambition and finish his career at home.

"People are probably sick of me saying that", Duff added. "But yeah, I'll be home now in the summer, end of April, early May. So I'll be home for good then. So I'll be looking for a job. So, yeah, that's the plan."

Duff's season with Melbourne City was cut short in February after tearing a tendon in his calf and suffering ankle ligament damage, but the 36-year-old is planning ahead for the future and hoping to start his coaching badges back home in June.

When asked by Peter Collins in the Soccer Republic studio about Duff's return, Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny replied: "I'm sure there'll be a few looking for his signature."