The wait for Celtic’s managerial announcement continues, but one former Hoops striker believes keeping Martin O’Neill’s coaching staff together could be just as important as confirming the manager himself.
Reports emerged almost a week ago suggesting O’Neill had agreed a one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months after guiding Celtic to a dramatic league and cup double.
Yet supporters remain in limbo, with no official communication from the club and uncertainty surrounding exactly what next season’s coaching structure will look like.
One key question is the future of Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
Both played major roles during O’Neill’s two spells in charge last season and earned praise from the manager throughout Celtic’s title-winning run.
There had also been suggestions that Maloney could move into a football operations role following the departure of Paul Tisdale earlier this year.
However, former Celtic striker Tony Watt believes both men should remain heavily involved on the coaching side.
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, Watt highlighted the impact they have made behind the scenes.
“I think the fact that he’s doing the year speaks a lot about his drive and motivation.
“I think he’s probably the right candidate at the moment; I think having Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham is big.
“Maloney’s probably a Celtic legend, or if not, a big figure in the recent past.
“Fotheringham, by all accounts — you hear a lot through the grapevine in football — is a very, very good coach, the boys love him.
“I think, regardless, he should’ve been kept on as a coach somewhere along the line.
“I think Maloney would’ve been up in the boardroom, sporting director level.”
“So I think Martin O’Neill’s the right choice at the moment, I think the stability’s a good thing at the moment after what happened with Nancy. I keep going back to it.
“Now, what I would like to see is Martin O’Neill getting free reign on the signings.
“Go and sign players who will make Celtic better.”
That may be the most important point of all.
Whether O’Neill is officially confirmed tomorrow or next week, the success of next season is likely to depend less on who occupies the manager’s office and more on whether Celtic finally get their recruitment right.
