Celtic F.C. are set to officially confirm that Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham will stay on ahead of pre-season training starting tomorrow. The timing matters because the club are still being criticized for moving very slowly in the summer transfer window, and this staff decision now lands right before preparations begin.
Callum McFadden said the deals for Maloney and Fotheringham are “set to be officially confirmed”. That gives the club a narrow window to settle its backroom structure before work begins, with continuity now carrying more weight than another round of delay.
O'Neill backs both men
O'Neill has been happy enough to admit that both men were “extremely important parts of the club last season”. He also described them as “vital to the team on the tactics side of things”, a direct endorsement that puts their retention at the centre of the current setup rather than at the margins.
That support arrives after a difficult stretch for Celtic. Last season they did not score over two legs against Kairat Almaty and lost on penalties, missing out on Champions League football. The staff decision now comes against that backdrop, with the football department under pressure to show sharper planning than it managed in that campaign.
Delay before training
The move had dragged on longer than all parties would have liked, and the club had not been able to agree deals with Maloney and Fotheringham at the same time as O'Neill. That left a gap in certainty just as the build-up to pre-season training reached its final day.
O'Neill has been the motivational head behind reviving Celtic during a difficult time and getting results out of them, so holding the backroom group together now gives the club a clearer base. For Celtic, the immediate task is simple: lock in the staff, start pre-season training, and stop another delay from setting the tone.
