Former Celtic man Mark Fotheringham has explained the prescient advice he got from Bhoys’ icon Tommy Burns, as well as his experience playing alongside Callum McGregor and Jack Grealish.
Fotheringham, after spells with Celtic and Dundee, tried his luck in German football, before coming back to play in England. He’s since worked as a coach in the German league system with FC Ingolstadt, earning plaudits from some big names in the game.
Ottmar Hitzfeld, a Champions League-winning manager, is a fan of Fotheringham.
But it was Tommy Burns who correctly predicted Fotheringham making a mark in European football. And, Fotheringham has explained how working with McGregor and £100m man Jack Grealish at Notts County inspired his next moves in the game.
He told the Herald: “The biggest, most important person at Celtic for me was Tommy Burns. He really looked after me, he changed my life, I loved the man.
“Tommy told me I was a player to play in Europe. He said “you’re a technical player, the environment will suit you, you’ll go away from Scotland and mature as a man and a player and you will start to understand systems and the tactical side of things.”
“[At Notts County] I was kind of like the big brother to [McGregor and Grealish]. It just came naturally to go to coaching. They were always willing to listen, they showed great energy in their training and I loved having young players around me. So when I moved into coaching, I said that was definitely the key because young players play without fear, they have energy, they have intensity and it is easy for them.”
Mark Fotheringham and his Celtic education have served him well; he’ll no doubt coach talents on a part with McGregor and Grealish again
Firstly, God love Tommy Burns. He was absolutely bang on, in terms of Fotheringham’s development as both a player and a coach. It’s a prediction almost eery in its accuracy.
Fotheringham, of course, spent a season and a half in Germany and Switzerland after leaving Scotland. It may not have been the roaring success he’d hoped for, but what he learnt there set a course for his post-playing career.
When he came back to the UK, a season with Notts County saw him playing alongside Callum McGregor and Jack Grealish. Then, a spell with Fulham alerted him to Thomas Oral, Felix Magath’s assistant, who would take him to Germany with him in a coaching role.
Naturally, we want to see former Celtic players thriving after they’ve hung up their boots. Mark Fotheringham, with his unorthodox post-playing path, is one of the more interesting stories of recent times.
He’ll surely coach players on a par with McGregor and Grealish in his career. The trajectory he’s on is a really impressive one, and his next steps will be interesting.
But how strange that Tommy Burns got it spot on about Fotheringham’s career. What he learned in Germany and Switzerland both as a player and a coach has given him opportunities he might never have dreamt of before.
Read more: Postecoglou can make it a trio of redemption stories after Celtic Wednesday win
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