‘Over the moon’ – Sheffield United promotion hero outlines future plans after securing coaching role

The former Blade, who scored an iconic goal in victory against Wednesday at Hillsborough and helped United rise from League One into the Premier League in the space of three seasons, made the transition into coaching last year as part of the interim set-up at Macclesfield.

After a good run of results, interim boss Neil Danns has been appointed permanently until at least the end of this season – with Duffy alongside him as his assistant.

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Duffy signed for Town on a part-time playing basis, to give him the chance to complete his UEFA A-Licence and dedicate time to coaching, and admitted: “I’m obviously over the moon. It's been a bit of a whirlwind few weeks, but the main thing is that the lads have been doing really well on the pitch.

“When we got asked to help out, the main objective was to get the lads playing with a smile on their faces and make sure that we continued to get those wins.

“The main thing is that the team is performing well and enjoying their football. We believe if you do that, play with a smile on your face, you will get the best performances.”

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Duffy described the job as “an unbelievable opportunity” as he looks to take the next step in his football career that saw him bounce back from rejection from boyhood Liverpool and work his way back up the football pyramid.

“It’s something I was already planning for, taking the coaching badges, and hopefully I will finish my A-License this summer,” Duffy added. “It’s been thrust upon us a bit but things have gone well. Obviously a lot of credit goes to the players for that.

“We sat down with them when the previous manager left and said that it didn’t seem like they were playing with smiles on their faces or that freedom.

“We decided to take it back to what the team was sort of designed for in pre-season, not complicate it for the players, and I think that’s why you’ve seen those performances lately.”

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