The Celtic Star spoke to Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney at their unveiling at Celtic Park yesterday afternoon in a packed media room…
Usually Celtic fan media sites that are still participating in the arrangement with the clubs are on a rota so there’s usually just one or two outlets at media conferences.
Yesterday was different as all the sites involved ( many have dropped out over the past few years) were invited. The fan media questions are in the second half of the media conference. Judge for yourself how we got on collectively. I was asked to go along to represent The Celtic Star. Here’s how I got on speaking to the legendary Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney…
It has been a surreal 36 hours or so and one that is still hard to believe. I touched on the addition of Mark Fotheringham to Maloney and O’Neill’s backroom team and also their thoughts on John Kennedy departing the club. Here is everything they had to say.
The Celtic Star: You’ve added Mark Fotheringham to your backroom team. Can you just give your thinking behind that?
Martin O’Neill: “I thought he was a really good lad, had super, super self-confidence about himself, you know? If he’d had a tenth of the ability that his confidence suggested he had, he would have been Messi. But, great lad, I like him, really.
“I met him, I met him about, I’d say, about six or seven weeks ago by chance. I was at the League Managers Association meeting, and he was there. And it was really nice to meet him, I must admit. So I haven’t had a chance to see him. I’m surprised I haven’t heard him, but he’ll be fine. Fozzy will be fine, you know? He just needs, he just needs to sort out a little bit. He’ll be absolutely fine.”
Shaun Maloney: “Fozzy, he’s had a brilliant sort of coaching career, really. With Felix Magath out in Germany, he did brilliant work at Hertha Berlin. And then he did really well with Swansea last year, so completely different character to the rest of the coaches.”
Martin O’Neill: “By the way, I love him. I do love him. I love Fozzy. I have always done.”
Shaun Maloney: “Yeah, he’s a different character, so he’ll bring his own skill set, but he was a good lad. I think all the staff, this morning, wanted to pick the group up, and not just the players. You need people like Fozzy around and that sort of energy. So I’m looking forward to working with him.”
The Celtic Star: And just for both of you, have you got any words for John Kennedy, who’s also departed the club after many years of service?
Martin O’Neill: “John was just a young kid coming into the team when I was at Celtic. He played two games, he played Rangers and Barcelona, and then got that really bad injury when he was playing for Scotland. So, his career was really cut short as a player. He’s been part of Celtic for quite some considerable time. So I, again, obviously, I wish him well. I haven’t had a chance to speak to him, but the sort of changes had taken place before I came in.”
Shaun Maloney: “These moments are really, really difficult. I think as well, when you ask the question about John, he is a big part of what goes on on a daily basis. He’s a really extremely talented coach, very popular, so he’ll be missed.”
The Celtic Star would like to thank John Kennedy for his outstanding service to Celtic Football Club for near on 30 years.
Conor Spence
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Personally still have the biggest respect for MoN, for a management position within our club, this century.
Think that his enthusiasm will rub off upon our players, and sounds like fozzy has been included to raise the spirits within our squad of players imo.
Maloney may well be the chief decision maker, and MoN and fozzy will be looking at trying to increase the belief back into our players. Could well be a better option, when you consider just how stale so many of our players had become.
Very little evidence on show, for way too long now, that players didn’t seem to be enjoying there football and only going through the motions of the game imo?
I don’t believe that our current squad of players are as poor as what is trying to be made out whatsoever.
Our new players haven’t had a settling in period, with far to much off field activities within our club.
Our more settled players haven’t been performing anywhere near there capabilities, so not buying into so many players who have been so successful for ourselves, have suddenly become so poor, over a period of time.
I do blame Rodgers for taking so many of our players backwards, and unable to inject new energy into the squad.
The board are getting the blame for the likes, I still believe Rodgers decision making and undermining players was a far bigger issue myself.
So that will be the biggest task for MoN, Maloney and fozzy will be facing.
So hopefully they can turn around our players, despite an unsettled changing room in place at present.
Will take some time until everything does get tidied up within the playing squad. But until then, still got plenty to play for this season.
And if we can get our players back to playing to there potential and capabilities, then there is nothing to suggest that this can’t be a successful season still imo?