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Michael Duff (footballer)
Northern Irish footballer and manager / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Michael James Duff (born 11 January 1978) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of League One club Huddersfield Town.
![]() Duff as manager of Barnsley in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Michael James Duff[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1978-01-11) 11 January 1978 (age 46)[1] | ||
Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back[2] | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Huddersfield Town (Head Coach) | ||
Youth career | |||
1995–1996 | Carterton Town | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996–2004 | Cheltenham Town | 300 | (15) |
1996–1997 | → Cirencester Town (loan) | ||
2004–2016 | Burnley | 342 | (7) |
Total | 642 | (22) | |
International career | |||
2003 | Northern Ireland B | 2 | (1) |
2002–2012 | Northern Ireland | 24 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2016–2018 | Burnley (youth) | ||
2018–2022 | Cheltenham Town | ||
2022–2023 | Barnsley | ||
2023 | Swansea City | ||
2024– | Huddersfield Town | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
In a professional playing career spanning from 1996 to 2016, in which he made over 600 appearances, Duff played as a defender for Cheltenham Town, Cirencester Town (on loan) and Burnley, winning three Premier League promotions with the latter. He played in each of the top eight tiers of English football in ascending order. At international level, Duff earned 24 caps for Northern Ireland.
After retiring as a player, Duff coached at Burnley's academy before becoming manager of Cheltenham Town in 2018. In 2021, he led Cheltenham to their first automatic promotion from League Two as champions. He was appointed head coach of Barnsley in 2022, leading them to the League One play-off final in his first season. One month later, Duff was named head coach of Swansea City before being dismissed in December 2023.