Shaun Maloney Takes Charge of Celtic's Attack

Shaun Maloney is stepping out of the shadows at Celtic – and straight into the firing line with the club’s forwards.

The assistant manager has confirmed he will take on a far more hands-on role with the attacking players this season after a reshuffle in Martin O’Neill’s backroom staff.

The change follows the departures of Gavin Strachan and Greg Wallace, who had been central to Celtic’s individual work with the front line. Maloney, speaking after the Premiership clash with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, outlined how his job is evolving.

“I have picked up the individual work with the attacking players after games,” he told The Herald. “Last season it was Gavin Strachan who did that. I can't take any credit for that! We also had Greg Wallace, who went to Saudi with Brendan Rodgers recently, and those two were really good with the individual stuff. I was doing things away from the pitch more, so I will pick more of that up this season.

“Stephen McManus and Mark Fotheringham do their stuff with different positions, but it was Gav and Greg who did the attacking work.”

So the division of labour has shifted. McManus and Fotheringham remain tied to their specialist areas, while Maloney now steps into the space Strachan and Wallace have left behind, tasked with sharpening Celtic’s cutting edge on a more personal level.

It comes at a moment when places in the Celtic forward line are anything but guaranteed.

• Yang Hyun-jun
• Jota
• James Forrest
• Sebastian Tounekti
• summer signing Camilo Duran
• Haissem Hassan

Competition usually breeds tension. At Celtic, O’Neill wants it to breed risk.

The manager has been crystal clear about how he expects his wide players to behave when they get the ball in advanced areas: be bold, be direct, and accept that losing possession is part of the deal.

Explaining that approach, Maloney said: “Martin is really aggressive in that he wants wingers to take on their opponent when we create a one-v-one.

“He gives the wingers the confidence that they can do that and that they shouldn't worry about losing it.”

The message is simple. Celtic’s wingers are being told to attack first, think later – and now they have a former Hoops playmaker working with them one-to-one to make sure those risks turn into rewards.