Jackie McNamara believes Shaun Maloney has the potential to become Celtic manager in the future and insists it is vital for Martin O'Neill to secure his desired backroom team quickly.
Maloney tipped for top job
Former Celtic star Jackie McNamara has tipped Shaun Maloney to one day become the club's manager. McNamara, who played alongside Maloney under Martin O'Neill during the manager's first spell at Celtic, believes the current assistant has the right attributes to take the top job at Parkhead.
Maloney, who moved from his role as Professional Player Pathway Manager to become O'Neill's assistant, was instrumental in Celtic's Double-winning campaign last season. However, deals for Maloney and fellow assistant Mark Fotheringham have yet to be finalized, despite O'Neill signing his agreement to return as manager.
McNamara said: "I think he has the potential to do that. Shaun is a quiet lad. He had a little taste of management with Hibs and Wigan. He has a good idea of the game, a good temperament and knows how he wants to play. It would be one that they were nurturing him through, that possibly could take over at some point."
Trust and respect
McNamara highlighted the trust between O'Neill and Maloney, which dates back to their time together at Celtic and Aston Villa. He stressed the importance of a strong backroom team, having managed Partick Thistle, Dundee United, and York City himself.
"Martin and Shaun are colleagues who have been in and out of each other's lives in football for a number of years and the trust is there. I do believe it's a healthy relationship they've got and a trusting one," McNamara said.
He added: "Shaun looks like a very good coach and he's got respect from the players. How he wants to play and how he wants to do things, you can see he's well respected by the players and how much they trust him. He's very quiet and he's a thinker of the game."
Backroom deals expected soon
With Celtic returning for pre-season next week, McNamara expects the backroom staff deals to be finalized shortly. Gavin Strachan is reportedly leaving for West Brom, but Fotheringham and Stephen McManus are expected to remain in O'Neill's set-up.
"Normally these things are done without being out there in the public domain. It's kind of done. Martin getting announced, you expect it all to be done at the same time. Hopefully it's not an issue and it's sorted quickly," McNamara said.
"I'd expect it to be done. I think maybe it's a surprise that it's come out that it's not been resolved. Because Martin's been announced, so you would expect it to be what Martin wants and, with his backroom staff, it will be sorted."
