Celtic are yet to agree terms with Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham to return to Martin O’Neill’s backroom staff, according to Stephen McGowan.
In a damning and worrying update, the parties have been described as ‘a distance apart’ in negotiations.
It comes almost a week after the news broke that Martin O’Neill had agreed a permanent Celtic contract after talks with Dermot Desmond in London.
The reason for the mysterious delay has now come to light.
Your thoughts on the latest update on the delayed appointment of Martin O’Neill… 🤦♂️
Celtic yet to reach contractual agreement with Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham
McGowan writes in The Herald that Maloney and Fotheringham remain a ‘distance apart’ with the club on negotiations.
The exact point of disagreement remains unclear.
READ MORE: Jackie McNamara voices fears over World Cup interest in Celtic’s Alistair Johnston
As the news broke of O’Neill’s permanent agreement last Friday, it was also said that Maloney and Fotheringham were expected to continue in their existing roles.
That’s despite Maloney holding talks to succeed Paul Tisdale as Head of Football Operations over the final few weeks of the season.
The pair’s role in Celtic’s league and cup double is hard to overstate, and didn’t go unnoticed by fans; both had their names sung in the stands most weeks.
It certainly isn’t a good look for the club that negotiations with such key and popular figures have been drawn out.
Maloney was moved from the position of Player Pathways Manager upon O’Neill’s initial arrival in October.
Celtic were the club where Maloney’s coaching journey began, when he linked up with Brendan Rodgers to initially work with the club’s reserve side.
Fotheringham, on the other hand, was an external appointment, having spent his coaching career in England and Germany.
Do you agree with Chris Sutton on Celtic’s impending rebuild?
Mark Fotheringham on Celtic boss Martin O’Neill
Fotheringham told the Scottish Sun last November: “Martin won’t tell you this, but I’m going to say it.
“In my mind, he was really up for the challenge of going and winning titles and cups for this club again.
“The more it was going on, the more enthusiastic he was getting. He could easily have carried on for the rest of the season. In fact, he could have done it way beyond it.
“He’d two young people and another two young coaches supporting, with a fantastic staff round him. There’s an incredible staff underneath the manager which supports whoever comes in.
“It’s maybe romantic, but I would have loved to see the gaffer build a team for the future that could go and compete in Europe again.
“When I was a young Celtic player he was taking scalps, beating Ajax, Juventus, getting the team to the UEFA Cup final.
“We knew the board had the plan to bring in a new manager. No problem. But I can’t deny, it would have been brilliant to see the gaffer at least stay for [the Premier Sports Cup final] and leave with a trophy success.”
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
