Current Hibernian boss Shaun Maloney remains thankful to ex Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers for handing him the opportunity in his first coaching role amongst the youth setup at Parkhead.
The former Scotland internationalist has come a long way since his days with the Hoops B side, going on to coach with the Belgian international side and, of course, now taking up his first managerial role with Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.
As quoted by Football Scotland, Maloney has opened up on his experiences as B side boss, praising Rodgers for the role he played and also revealed that the Northern Irishman still keeps in contact to this day.
“I was very fortunate, I retired, and within about four or five days, I spoke to Brendan Rodgers, and there was an opening in their B team.
“I had breakfast with him, and at the end of breakfast, he offered me the job, so I was extremely fortunate.
“It was an amazing year for the club, and we had a very special manager, Brendan was and still is a fantastic manager, and it was something I really took a lesson from; he had time for everyone.
“As a young coach, at any time, I could knock on his door and ask about my own team or the performance of the first team.
“It was really interesting to speak to him about the first team going to places domestically and being a big favourite and then the European side where you play PSG and Bayern Munich, and it’s almost the complete opposite.
“I took massive amounts from that, and I still do; I still speak to him a lot.
“It was the belief he had and where he wanted to take the club. There were moments it was very good, there were some dips, but he never lost belief over where he thought the team could go.
“It’s something, a massive lesson I’ve taken and definitely taking those lessons now.”
During his time with the club, with the reports coming out of Lennoxtown and the eventual move to join the Belgian national team, it was clear to see that Maloney was rated by many as a coach, even in the early days of his career so far.
The former Celtic midfielder clearly has a lot of admiration for Rodgers and is thankful for his spell spent with the Hoops.
Who knows, maybe one day Maloney will make a return to Parkhead in some sort of coaching position. But, he still has a lot of work to do with his current side at Easter Road as he continues to try and change the clubs fortunes.
