Former Chelsea star Damien Duff is to take his first step into senior management with League of Ireland club Shelbourne.
The 42-year-old, who won two Premier League titles during the first three years of the Roman Abramovich era, has had a number of backroom roles since retiring six years ago - including at Celtic and with the Ireland national team.
He has also spent time working as a TV pundit, earning comparisons with Roy Keane due to his matter-of-fact dissection of players’ effort levels.
But now Duff is set to take over the north Dublin club after they won promotion to the Irish top flight last month.
An announcement confirming his appointment is expected at midday.
He has been working with the club’s under-17 team and initially turned down the offer of taking control of the first team only to accept the role having been asked to reconsider.
It is a starkly different environment to what he knew in a playing career that also took in spells at Fulham, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers.
The Shelbourne squad that won the First Division title this year was made up of part-time players and Duff is expected to introduce significant changes, with reports that he will be shifting training to morning which would effectively make the squad full-time.
He has built a solid reputation for developing young players, although the demands placed on teenagers during an initial stint with Shamrock Rovers' academy left some parents surprised.
Joey O'Brien, the former West Ham United defender, is likely to be named his assistant.
