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, filling the gap left by Gavin Strachan and Greg Wallace in Martin O’Neill’s reshaped backroom team.
Maloney, speaking after Celtic’s Scottish Premiership clash with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, explained that his day-to-day focus is changing.
He used to work mainly away from the training pitch. Now he’ll be on it, in the thick of the detail.
“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.”
That attacking work has rarely been more important. Competition for places in Celtic’s front line is tightening, and every training session now carries an edge.
- Yang Hyun-jun
- Jota
- James Forrest
- Sebastian Tounekti
- Summer signing Camilo Duran
are all fighting for minutes in the forward areas. Haissem Hassan is set to add yet another option for O’Neill, turning the wide berths into one of the most fiercely contested parts of the squad.
Maloney’s new remit drops him right into that battle. He will be the one poring over clips, talking through movements, sharpening decision-making in the final third – the kind of marginal work that can turn a promising winger into a match-winner.
O’Neill has already laid down a clear blueprint for how he wants his wide players to play. No safety-first stuff. No hiding.
“Martin is really aggressive in that he wants wingers to take on their opponent when we create a one-v-one,” Maloney said. “He gives the wingers the confidence that they can do that and that they shouldn't worry about losing it.”
That instruction is simple but ruthless: isolate your full-back, attack him, live with the consequences.
For players like Yang, Jota and Duran, the message is unmistakable. If you’re on the pitch, you’re there to take risks. If you’re working with Maloney after games, you’re there to make sure those risks start to pay off.
With Celtic’s forward line stacked and standards rising, Maloney’s shift from background operator to front-line coach arrives at a pivotal moment. The tools are there. The philosophy is clear.
Now it’s down to him and the wingers to turn that aggression into goals.
