He was previously in the dugout at Easter Road and now looks set for a return to Scottish football.
A former Hibs, Aston Villa and Scotland national team figure is set to return to the SPFL at Premiership champions Celtic.
Shaun Maloney has stepped into coaching and management after a career that started at Celtic, having two spells at the Hoops and featuring for Scotland on top of Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire and Hull City stints. He was in the Belgian national team structure before a disappointing spell at Hibs lasting mere months before being relieved of head coach duties.
Maloney has been hunting a new gig since leaving post as head coach at Wigan. It’s now been claimed by the Scottish Sun that Maloney “is in line to succeed Darren O’Dea as the club’s professional player pathway manager.” The former Hibs boss came through the Celtic ranks and started his coaching career with the club’s U20s during Brendan Rodgers’ first crack at the whip, and now could return to Scottish football.
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Shaun Maloney set for Celtic return
He said to World Football Index of Celtic in 2022: ““I wanted to return to Celtic at the first available opportunity because all I ever wanted to do as a young boy was play for Celtic. I grew up as a Celtic fan and, as I said earlier, I never wanted to leave the club when I did in my first spell.
“I loved the pressure that comes with being a Celtic player. I love the history and heritage that the club has and I missed that when I was away. Playing for your team is like no other feeling in football. I missed that and wanted it back. Overall, my second spell was one of transition. I also really struggled with injury, which did not help matters.
“I was injury free when I returned for the first six months then I did not have regular spells where I was able to play more than fifteen games without another injury. Unfortunately, the injuries I suffered were serious and I was not able to become a big part of the team which was difficult because that is not how I wanted things to go especially at the club that I love. We also had great moments where we took the league to the last day in 2009 and won the League Cup in that season. We should have won that league.
Why former Hibs boss didn’t regret Celtic move
“Then, Gordon leaves and Tony Mowbray comes in. I loved Tony and for me; he was the right manager at the right club but at the wrong time. It was a period of real transition and, unfortunately, Tony loses his job less than a season after taking over, then Neil Lennon comes in as interim manager then as permanent manager.
“Neil had some great moments as Celtic manager and I have so much time for Neil. However, I knew that it was the end of the cycle for many of our players when Neil came in and you have to accept that and move on.
“Although my second spell was tough at the time, I do not regret coming back to Celtic because I was at the place where I most wanted to play football.”
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