Jose Mourinho's inspirational message at The Everglades Hotel in Derry inspires Shelbourne to title glory

Damien Duff's former Chelsea manager and current Fenerbahce didn't fly to Foyleside to see the Dubliners lift the championship for the first time since 2006 but he did send a private video message which was played on a big screen at the Derry hotel two hours before kick-off.

And the motivational message from the Portuguese certainly had the desired effect as Harry Wood's 84th minute strike earned a 1-0 win over their long-time title rivals which proved enough to see them over the line.

Duff agreed afterwards that Shelbourne's unlikely league triumph was straight out of a Hollywood script and he was quick to acknowledge the timely intervention of his former Chelsea boss who came to the fore just as he was beginning to run out of inspirational ploys to fire up his troops.

Former Lions head coach Ian McGeechen, and former Shels defender Colin Hawkins who has been battling cancer, also played their roles in getting Shels players up for the fight and Duff explained Mourinho's siege mentality card was one he had been playing close to his chest for some time.

“We have an Instagram page, there must be 150 posts on it now," explained Duff, who took over as Shels boss in 2021. "I started last season and it’s got tactical training, shape, formations, everything, and just over time I might put motivational stuff, I might throw a joke in there or whatever, but it’s just the players’ page.

“There is a lot of learning in it. So any new player that comes in, they get a login to the page and there is gold on it, golden comedy, but golden learning as well. Three weeks ago, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we posted Ian McGeechan, powerful, powerful speeches.

“I got a private message off Neil Doyle from Ian McGeechan, so we just followed up on the day of the match, Ian McGeechan, powerful message, and we beat Waterford.

“Onto the next week, okay, Joe [O'Brien] says, ‘Gaffer, what do you want to do?’. ‘I don’t know’.

“I met Colin Hawkins in the carpark, I found him utterly inspirational, his story, his wife’s story, what they've been through. He lifted me that day when I should have been lifting him.

“Again we put posts Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and surprised the lads and (Hawkins) spoke to the lads for half-an-hour.

“We didn’t show anything on Drogheda, we let Colin speak and Boydy (Sean Boyd) came out, he said it was the best meeting he had in three years. It put everything in perspective and really hit home.

“Then on to this week, Joey again, ‘gaffer, what will we do?’ I dunno, I’m running out of ideas.

“I threw in, ‘What about Jose?’. ‘Why Jose?’. Because do I try and build, have we tried to build a siege mentality, us against the world like he did? Absolutely. It would be mad not to tap into him.

“So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, there were posts on the Instagram page; powerful lyrics, powerful words that would resonate and have a meaning to tie in for tonight.

“Then in the team meeting [today] there was a private message from Jose speaking about what it takes to win a title as a team, as an individual. It blew the guys away. A video that was shown in the Everglades two hours before the game.

“Again, people think I’m mad but I’m a proudly deep thinker. I don’t always get it right, the last three weeks myself and the staff I would like to think have got it right.

“We’ve been so calm and tapped into other people because I don’t think I’m any type of expert, far from it.”

Duff attempted to ring Mourinho after the match but his old gaffer didn't pick up, meaning the Shels boss would pick up a large part of the title-winning bar tab this weekend.

“Here, it’s not as if I’m in touch with him. I’m not, it was through somebody. Now I have his number I tried to ring him in the dressing room,” he said. “I said to the lads that if he doesn’t pick up I’ll put a monkey on your drinking tab tomorrow.

“Low and behold he didn’t pick up so I owe €500. I died on the pitch for Jose, that’s what I’ve always done. His story, Chelsea, 50 years, granted we were 18 (years without a title), and just us against the world.

“Everyone hated Chelsea, everyone hates us, blah, blah, blah. Another chapter in the story.”