Phil SumblerAs we reported yesterday, Southampton are on the verge of appointing Russell Martin at St Mary’s Stadium and we are now told that Barnsley’s Michael Duff will be not long after confirmed as his replacement here in SA1.
With Martin’s compensation package with the Saints now agreed and awaiting official confirmation we now know that the Swans have not been sitting on their hands on the replacement search and all roads now seem to look to Michael Duff with various sources saying that the move to SA1 is imminent and could even happen as soon as today.
Duff, a former player with both Cheltenham and Burnley was capped 24 times for Northern Ireland before moving into management in 2016 when he coached Burnley’s Under-18 squad.
He moved to Cheltenham in 2018 and delivered a first ever automatic promotion for Cheltenham in 2021 and retained their League One position a year later with a highest ever finish for the Robins before moving on last summer to join Barnsley.
He won three League One manager of the month awards last season with Barnsley reaching the play offs and eventually the play off final before a last minute heartache saw them beaten by local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
The Swans are clearly impressed by his record in the lower leagues and feel that his set up and philosophy will fit well at the club with the new investors very much setting their sights on the Premier League despite the obvious difficulty that the Championship will throw at us this season.
Duff will need to be selecting his own backroom staff to join him at Swansea with Martin taking four trusted lieutenants with him to Saints and the Swans are definitely keen to get him in place well before the players report back on Friday and head off to Spain on Sunday.
Speculation has linked the Swans with moves for the likes of Steven Schumacher, Chris Davies and Kevin Muscat and whilst there may have been names on a shortlist it seems at the moment as if Duff was a leading candidate and progressed nicely towards completion.
Let’s see how the day ahead unfolds.
Looks a good choice .Iโm surprised that we are willing to pay compo for a manager .Not been our style recently
We did the last 3 managers – Potter from Ostersunds, Cooper from England role and Martin from MK Dons
I’m sure the fans will give their full backing when we finally have an end to this long running saga.
He’s certainly had a good deal of success in his managerial career to date so let’s hope that continues.
I think there will be some changes in our playing style under Duff, but probably that is needed.
Exciting times ahead at long last ……… hopefully!
I would have preferred someone more schooled in football rather than bump and grind but lets see what he can make of the squad he has left, what he develops and whether the owners come up with any support.
Barnsley played good football mixed in with pressing and some long ball .I think we sre getting carried away with โthe Swansea wayโ .There were many occasions last season when the football was slow and without purpose and hard to watch.
As Franco says it would be nice to see the new manager – whoever he is – get some support particularly if we lose some big players
Catherine and I approve
michael duff is a fantastic manager really lifted oakwell this season gone never been so devastated to see a manager leave one season legend love the man X
I think it will be a very good appointment and will be more successful than if Martin had stayed, as nice as pretty football is, at end of the day its results that matter, no reason why we can’t have both depending on the opposition.
if Duff carries on the possession based game the players are schooled in and have the matching skill set for, then ok. but if this is about a new more pragmatic style, we are asking for trouble. Not only will we lose our identity, we’ll lose all the foundations laid of a modern passing possession based game. A wait and see scenario.
Gutted that RM has left. Suspect Duff will make us a side totally indistinguishable from every other team. Hope Iโm wrong & we keep our unique identity but I wouldnโt bet on it.
everyone has different opions on RM .i for one so happy hes gone and i hope he takes his proccess with him what unigue idenity do you mean ? slow walking football with poccession for good stats with no end results but he give his fanboys a big fist pump and love sign with his hands when he actualy won a game
Unique identity ?
I just hope that with the new management in place the swansea owners will back him with cash to buy new players for this season if the news that we will lose 3 to 5 players players players this season is right. I don’t think that I can stand another season season of the swansea owners not backing the manager again as it was painful to finish 3 points off the play offs .I think if they had backed the management with the 3 new players he wanted then we would of made the play offs. Just emangin if we had won promotion to the Premier league . Where the hell would the owners find the money to buy some really good expensive players to stay there for one season. ๐ค
As a lifelong Cheltenham fan, whoever employs Duffy are getting one of the best young managers around. What he achieved with the robins was nothing short of sensational.
I believe you are bang on Steve.
From what I understand heโs properly wowed our decision makers already.
๐คwe get the wow factor we so desperately need after Martinโs mediocrity and conniving deception, to the bitter end, the snake.