Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Gavin Strachan are all to stay as part of Martin O’Neill’s coaching staff at Celtic.
The ‘Dream Team’ in the dugout were the backbone of O’Neill’s success across both of his interim spells, and are understandably continuing in their respective positions.
There is no confirmation that Stephen McManus is staying as of yet.
The news is perhaps a surprise regarding Maloney, who had reportedly been interviewed for the role of Head of Football Operations.
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According to Sky Sports, the trio will remain as part of O’Neill’s backroom staff, continuing their current roles.
Maloney was moved from the position of Player Pathways Manager upon O’Neill’s initial arrival in October.
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Fotheringham, on the other hand, was an external appointment, having spent his coaching career in England and Germany.
Unless Maloney fancies juggling the roles of Assistant Manager and Head of Football Operations, a new appointment will now be needed upstairs.
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.
He initially joined Roberto Martinez’s coaching staff at Belgium on a job-sharing basis, before making the move permanently.
His first managerial role at Hibernian lasted just six months, after a poor run of form left the Hibees in the bottom six.
He then returned to Wigan, where he was a key player during his career. He stabilised the Latics over two years despite financial turbulence and points deductions, before being replaced by Ryan Lowe last year.
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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.”
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