I have to admit to being a little surprised when I heard former Celtic player Mark Fotheringham had rejected the opportunity, for financial reasons, to take up the chance to be Neil Lennon’s number two at Omonia Nicosia. Now however, you can fully understand why.
Fotheringham has now been appointed as assistant to European Cup winner and former Bayern Munich manager Felix Magath at Bundesliga strugglers Hertha Berlin, not a bad career move for a coach who three years ago was in Scotland’s League Two with Cowdenbeath.
Speaking to Scottish Sun, Fotheringham has explained how the incredible opportunity came about and is thankful to Celtic captain Callum McGregor with whom Fotheringham played with while Calmac was on loan at Notts County.
“I appreciated the call, and I’m so proud of Callum’s career. He is a wonderful player who could easily star in the Bundesliga. It’s an incredible opportunity and something I’ve been building up to for a long time. I’m probably better known as a coach over there than I am at home.
“Felix contacted me last weekend and then Fredi Bobic, the Hertha sporting director, called me. Everything happened so quickly.
And Fotheringham has also received congratulations from a legend of German football – Jurgen Klinsmann.
“It was all confirmed yesterday — Jurgen Klinsmann even called wishing me all the best. I was really lucky to meet him last summer and discussed future possibilities.
“It’s a great feeling to be with Hertha.“I first met Felix over ten years ago as I had a trial at Wolfsburg.“He was my manager at Fulham. We kept in touch after that.”
I’ve never lost touch with the German football scene, and it was special for me to work with Tomas Oral there for two years. I’ve learned so much.
“For Felix to ask me to be his assistant is a huge compliment, especially when I think of the people he knows in the game.
“He had a wonderful career as a player, and he’s seen and done it as a manager for clubs like Hamburg, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and Bayern Munich.”
Fotheringham will of course have a Celtic connection as soon as he walks into the Hertha Berlin dressing room, as the club is captained by former Celt Dedryk Boyata, and although both Magath and Fotheringham have a tough task ahead to ensure Hertha Berlin remain in the top flight, he has Celtic and Scottish influences to call upon as well as the time he spent playing and coaching in Germany –
“I’m confident we can guide the team to safety. I’ve worked hard to get to this stage, and I’ve sacrificed a lot of family time, but it doesn’t daunt me to work in Germany.
“I was in the company of Sir Alex Ferguson as a kid when he was trying to sign me for Man United before I went to Celtic. Tommy Burns, Kenny Dalglish and Martin O’Neill were major influences for me — as was playing with greats like Henrik Larsson.”
It is a fantastic opportunity for Mark Fotheringham to take on a role in one of Europe’s top leagues, and you’d assume if he continues on his career trajectory a job as a manager will soon be in his thoughts. Perhaps now chairmen of Scottish clubs looking for a manager in the future will have Mark Fotheringham in their thoughts.
Niall J
