Former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan is hoping that time spent with Shaun Maloney at Lennoxtown will help get his career back on track after stalling under Jack Ross at Hibs. The 30-year-old worked with Maloney at Lennoxtown as he struggled for any first-team involvement under Brendan Rodgers before the ex-Celtic winger swapped Glasgow for the Belgian FA.
Speaking to The Scotsman after Maloney recorded a 1-0 win in his first game over Aberdeen, Allan said that he was pleased to start the game and due to his relationship with the manager, he hopes that he will be able to play more.
“I’ve known the manager from my time at Celtic. He was working there with the reserves. Obviously there’s a way he wants to play and he sees some of my attributes in the way he wants to play.
“You could probably see that in terms of some of the control we had with the ball. It’s a great start but we have a lot to work on in terms of how we want to play but I think we saw more than you would expect of that because we’ve only had two sessions. We have adapted well as a squad and it gives you confidence when a new manager comes in and gives you the nod and we get off to a winning start.
“It was good to get the nod because it’s been a while since I started a game. I’m happy to get the fitness up and get off to a good start with the win.”
Allan was signed by Ronny Deila from Hibs in 2015 but only made 17 appearances for Celtic in his time at the club. He struggled for game time with loan spells to Rotherham, Dundee and Hibs making up the time he spent in Glasgow. However, in the summer of 2018, Allan was expected to return to Hibs as part of the John McGinn deal – which never transpired. As a result, Brendan Rodgers called upon Ryan Christie to battle with Tom Rogic in the ‘No 10 role’ and Allan was forced to watch from afar. In January 2019, Allan signed a pre-contract to return to Easter Road where he would reunite with Neil Lennon. Unfortunately for Allan, Lennon would leave his role and later be announced as Celtic manager for a second time.
Allan would struggle under Paul Heckingbottom and then Jack Ross, especially due to a Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosis in the early part of the 2020/21 season which resulted in a five-month absence. Hopefully, Allan can utilise this connection with Maloney and get himself back on track. Maloney, who is in his first job as manager, was joined by Gary Caldwell in the dugout as he looks to get his career as a No.1 up and running after a period of success learning from Roberto Martinez.
