Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has said that former Celtic winger Shaun Maloney can develop Scottish football from his role as Hibs manager. The former Everton and Wigan manager paid tribute to his former number two, who decided to move to Easter Road earlier this month.
As reported by the Daily Record, Martinez said he is interested to see what Maloney can do with Hibs and Scottish football on a whole.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can change in the next 18 months because I know he can bring a different approach to Scottish football with the ideas of working in international football. It’s going to be good for Hibs and the development of Scottish football in general.
“He has really strong values, he doesn’t just want to manage a team and win games, he wants to build a football club, the philosophy, develop the players and have a long-term vision for recruitment. He is ready, for us it has been fantastic to have him working with the team for three years. He is someone I know as a player and that transformation to become an ultra-dedicated coach was fantastic.
“I would have loved to have kept him until the World Cup because it’s only round the corner. The reality is he got really intrigued by the project. Once he met the owner and CEO he believed in the project and long-term future of the club.”
Maloney, 38, traded Lennoxtown for Belgium in September 2018 after the World Cup saw the Belgians claim third place. In the following months, the Belgians would climb to the top of the FIFA rankings and Maloney would become assistant manager to his former manager, Roberto Martinez.
Although in December, the highly-rated coach decided to go it as a No.1, taking the Hibs job after Celtic won the League Cup at Hampden. Maloney made 215 appearances for Celtic – scoring 52 times across two spells.
Hibs have already recorded two wins since Maloney took the role from interim boss David Gray. A win at home to Aberdeen and then away at Dundee United. It is an interesting one to keep an eye on as Maloney is very highly rated by Celtic’s hierarchy. He is certainly one to watch for the future as he gets his feet under the table in management.
