DAMIEN DUFF SAYS he is excited to have signed with Melbourne City, but claims he remains eager to finish his career in the League of Ireland.
Speaking to Newstalk’s Off the Ball show, Duff outlined his reasons for making the move, revealing talks began six weeks ago.
“The whole project excites me, he said. “It didn’t take much for me to get on board and I’m looking forward to it.
“For the past year or 18 months or so I’ve been looking at [moving]. I just think life is too short and I wanted to try something new.
“I said many times before, and people are probably sick of me saying it, that I’d like to come home and play in Ireland, so there is life in the old dog yet.”
One of the biggest challenges for Duff will be dealing with the Australian climate, and the 35-year-old acknowledges that it could prove difficult.
“They’ve warned me about [the heat]. It does get hot especially around Christmas time, so I’m not sure my skin will go down too well there, but I’m sure I’ll cope.”
Duff added that he is content to play as a winger for now, while suggesting that he could move to a more central playing position in the long term.
“As you get older, a lot of players do end up going further infield, because you’ve lost a yard of pace. For now, I’m happy to be going as an out-and-out winger, but maybe it is something the manager will look at down the line.”
The former Chelsea player dismissed potential accusations that he is taking the easy option, and admitted that there is one player in particular that he is looking forward to working with.
“I’m definitely excited to play with David Villa. He has been a top player for many years and you just have to look at his CV.
“I went for football reasons, I’m not going for a holiday. As much as my family are going to love it, I’m just going for the football.
“I probably won’t see the side of it that a lot of Irish people do — going over to party. I’d be pretty hard on myself in that regard.”
