Wigan Athletic boss, Shaun Maloney, has shared how Gordon Strachan made him a success at Celtic back in his playing days.
Maloney was a Parkhead favourite during his playing days in the two spells he had at the club but it was the arrival of Strachan that the former Celtic striker credits for making him a success at the club.
Making his debut under Martin O’Neill back in 2001 in a 3-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox, Maloney spent much of that time competing against the likes of Alan Thompson for a starting spot in the Celtic team although he did feature regularly in the 2003 UEFA Cup run that saw us reach Seville that year.
Injury also curtailed much of his Celtic career when in 2004 Maloney fell foul of a cruciate knee ligament injury that kept him out for a whole season.
Martin O’Neill left Celtic at the end of that season and in came Gordon Strachan. And with that, a new Maloney was born.
Strachan ‘changed’ Maloney
Maloney was heralded as one of the brightest talents to come out of Celtic. Earning the reputation of a free-kick specialist, he was a fan favourite before Strachan arrived.
But even Maloney admits that had it not been for the enigmatic former Hoops gaffer, he may not have got the chance to enjoy a trophy-laden spell at the club.
Maloney said [FourFourTwo], “I’d missed most of the previous season through injury, then Gordon Strachan replaced Martin O’Neill as boss and was keen to develop more of the younger lads.
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“He changed my role from striker to left-winger and gave me confidence to go out and show what I could do.”
Maloney won two league titles under Strachan during his first spell at Celtic scoring 14 goals between 2005 and 2007.
He eventually left the club to join Aston Villa in January 2007 to link up with Martin O’Neill in a £1m deal as his contract was set to expire in the summer.
Such was Maloney’s relationship with Strachan the former Celtic boss tried to get him to link up with him at Dundee back in 2022. Rumours that he was set to return to Paradise for the Sporting Director role were quashed in 2021.
Maloney is now the boss at Wigan Athletic where he is hoping to save the club from relegation from the English Championship this season.