Martin O’Neill may finally have been confirmed as Celtic manager, but significant questions remain over who will be standing alongside him in the dugout next season.
And if recent reports are accurate, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult to understand.
Last week, it emerged that Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham had allegedly been offered substantial wage cuts and effectively told to take the deals or walk away.
The reports also suggested O’Neill was unhappy with the situation and intended to challenge the club’s hierarchy in an effort to secure improved terms for two coaches who played a major role in Celtic’s domestic double.
If true, it raises obvious questions.
These are not coaches being brought in from outside. They were already in the building.
They were part of a coaching setup that helped rescue Celtic’s season and deliver the league title and Scottish Cup.
Maloney remains employed by the club in his Player Pathway Manager role, while Fotheringham earned widespread praise throughout the campaign from players.
Yet weeks after the season ended, Celtic still appear no closer to providing certainty over their futures.
Former Hibs forward Tam McManus certainly struggles to understand the logic.
Speaking on PLZ Soccer, McManus said:
“Now you are talking about Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham to take wage cuts, which is totally and utterly bizarre.
“If any two guys earned the right to go in and ask what they want and get what they want, it’s those two. And Martin.”
It’s a viewpoint many supporters are likely to share.
Throughout the title run-in, O’Neill repeatedly praised his coaching staff.
He singled out Maloney, Fotheringham, Stephen McManus, Gavin Strachan and Craig Dunbar for their contributions behind the scenes and publicly expressed hope that the club would find a way to keep them involved.
Fotheringham in particular has received glowing reviews from those who have worked with him.
Former Celtic striker Tony Watt recently revealed that “through the grapevine” he had heard players “love him” and described him as a “very, very good coach.”
At a time when stability should be the priority, the prospect of losing key members of a successful coaching team feels entirely avoidable.
Of course, wage negotiations are rarely as straightforward as they appear from the outside.
But if Celtic genuinely want continuity after one of the most chaotic seasons in recent memory, ensuring O’Neill has the staff he trusts would seem like a sensible place to start.
The manager has been confirmed. Now attention turns to whether Celtic can keep the people who helped him get the job in the first place.
If this board don’t settle with these two guys on favourable terms to them,and give the boss his preferred coaching team,they will deserve every bit of vitriol coming down the pipe at them.Wtf do they think they’re playing at trying to undercut these successful and dedicated to the club men?
The only people deserving of big wages are those in control, fuck everyone else. These guys think they are the top dogs in the football club, fuck them all
if its not bad news then make bad ones up media om Celtic
No surprise if the board trying to screw Maloney & Fotheringham for cash, but the biggest mystery is why MON didnt sort this out with the club when he accepted the job?
He was in total control of the situation, he could have insisted that he returns on condition that Maloney & Fotheringham must return with him, then the board wouldn’t dare try to cut their wages.
Abysmal conduct by the board, but that is what we expect from them, poor judgement by MON and pretty naive from such an experienced manager.
Just another example of MacKay & Nicolson showing themselves to be classless morons whose self important ego’s confirm only 1 thing. That with those 2 at the helm Celtic will fall further back until we loose a league title.
“First class in everything they do” they tell us. Well that’s a ;ot of b0ll0cks!!!