Ex-Huddersfield Town manager lands new Celtic FC role after Brendan Rodgers exit | OneFootball

A familiar face to Huddersfield Town fans has found a new position under Martin O'Neill at Celtic FC

Former Huddersfield Town manager Mark Fotheringham has surprisingly joined Martin O’Neill’s temporary coaching staff at Celtic FC.

The Hoops have enjoyed much success in their recent history, clinching 13 of the last 14 Scottish Premiership titles to establish a period of dominance over the rest of the country.

Normal order was expected to be resumed this season, but that hasn’t proven to be the case, with Celtic unable to progress through the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

This form carried on into their domestic campaign, where the usually dominant side looked vulnerable for the first time in a while.

Defeats against Dundee FC and Hearts left the Hoops eight points adrift of the latter in the table and were enough for questions to start appearing over the future of Brendan Rodgers, who subsequently tendered his resignation as Celtic manager.

Whilst the Scottish giants search for their next permanent manager, O’Neill has been appointed on an interim basis to oversee proceedings in the meantime.

Former Huddersfield Town boss Mark Fotheringham handed Celtic role under Martin O’Neill

As O’Neill assembles his backroom staff at Celtic Park, a name familiar to Huddersfield Town supporters has been given the call - and they may be surprised that he's been given the nod.

Mark Fotheringham managed the Terriers from September 2022 to February 2023, in what was a largely uninspiring stint when they were still a Championship club.

He was relieved of his duties as Huddersfield boss after winning only five of his 21 games in charge and was in charge for just 134 days.

Town had finished the previous season third in the Championship standings, just six points off automatic promotion and were unlucky not to make a Premier League return via the play-offs.

However, that form vanished in the following term under Fotheringham after he replaced Danny Schofield in the dugout, and the pathway for Huddersfield’s eventual relegation to League One had begun to appear - they were saved however by the returning Neil Warnock, who rescued the West Yorkshire outfit from the drop.

Fotheringham enjoyed a brief period playing for Celtic at the start of his career under O'Neill, having played in the club's youth system, so he will be returning to somewhat familiar surroundings in a coaching capacity with an experienced figure that he knows all too well about - albeit 22 years after departing.

O'Neill revealed that he came across Fotheringham once more at a League Managers Association meeting earlier in 2025, which has led to his opportunity, and acknowledged his confidence as a player under him as a youngster - jokingly referencing the fact that he could've been as big as superstar Lionel Messi.

The 42-year-old will also be joined by Gavin Strachan and Stevie Woods in O’Neill’s backroom staff, with former Wigan Athletic manager Shaun Maloney already in place as assistant manager.

Huddersfield Town supporters won’t remember Mark Fotheringham’s stint in charge too fondly

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There hasn’t been much to cheer about at Huddersfield Town over the past few years - and that includes Fotheringham’s short time in charge.

After enjoying the highs of Premier League football for multiple seasons, the Yorkshire outfit have since slipped back down to the third-tier of English football, after looking at one point like they had the ability to bounce back up to the top-flight.

Fotheringham’s stint signalled the start of Huddersfield’s decline from competitive second-tier side to strugglers at the bottom of the division and therefore won’t bring back many happy memories for the Terriers’ faithful.

The 42-year-old hasn’t taken up a first-team manager role since his Huddersfield Town exit, which might raise further questions over why he was afforded the opportunity in the first place.