With Michael Duff set to move from Cheltenham Town to Barnsley as head coach, here is a rundown of the 44-year-old's career so far.
– Duff was born in Belfast then grew up in North Yorkshire, playing for Darlington’s youth teams before moving to the South West of England.
– The centre-back was spotted by Cheltenham as a 16-year-old playing for eighth tier Carterton then, after a loan at Cirencester Town, broke into the Robins’ first team.
– He was a key part of the Cheltenham side who, mainly under Steve Cotterill, went from non-league football to the third tier. He played in a 1-1 draw at Oakwell in August 2002 and then a 3-1 home defeat later in the season.
– Duff moved in 2004 to Burnley, for a reported fee of £30,000, where he spent 12 years. He helped them to the Premier League three times – returning to the Championship after one season the first two occasions then retired after the third.
– Duff also gained 24 caps for Northern Ireland, playing in some of their most famous wins. He came off the bench late on in their 1-0 win over England in a 2005 World Cup qualifier. The following year, he played the full game as they won 3-2 over a Spain side which included Fernando Torres, Raul, Xavi and David Villa.
– After retiring in 2016 and beginning his coaching career at Burnley, with their under 18s and under 23s, Duff was given his first managerial job by Cheltenham in September 2018. He did not win any of his first nine league matches, losing five, but eventually steered them out of relegation trouble and they finished 16th.
– In Duff’s first full season, the Robins were fourth on points-per-game – one place outside the automatic promotion places – when the campaign was cancelled due to Covid-19. They looked set to reach the Wembley play-off final when they won 2-0 at Northampton Town in the semi-final but lost the home leg 3-0.
– They recovered the following season, winning the League Two title – the first time they have ever finished first in an EFL division.
– Last season, they finished 15th in League One which was the club’s highest ever placing.
