Damien Duff: Celtic coach to leave club for full-time Republic role says Lennon

Damien Duff was appointed to an assistant's role by new Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny last month

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has confirmed coach Damien Duff is set to leave the club to concentrate on his duties with the Republic of Ireland.

Former Blackburn and Chelsea winger Duff was appointed as assistant to new Republic boss Stephen Kenny in April.

Duff, 41, will leave the Scottish champions when his contract expires at the end of June.

"I spoke to Damien on Monday and he was in good spirits, but he'll join the FAI," said Lennon.

"It's a blow because he contributed immensely and personally I got on great with him.

"He's in his formative years as a coach but he made a huge contribution and there was a good chemistry there. So he'll be difficult to replace, that's for sure.

"We were waiting on everything getting called first then we'll look to replace him but it's not at the forefront of our minds."

Duff, who won 100 caps for the Republic, is part of Kenny's backroom team which also includes former internationals Keith Andrews and Alan Kelly.

The Dubliner has been a first-team coach under Lennon at Celtic since February 2019.