Hibs v Celtic – Hibs boss David Gray on working with Shaun Maloney

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·30 de novembro de 2025

Hibs v Celtic – Hibs boss David Gray on working with Shaun Maloney

David Gray will face Shaun Maloney from the opposing technical area this afternoon, four years after previously serving on his coaching staff…

Hibernian manager David Gray arrives prior to the Premier Sports Cup match between Celtic and Hibernian at Celtic Park on August 18, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Celtic interim assistant briefly managed Hibs between December 2021 until April 2022 and Gray – already part of Jack Ross’s backroom team – continued working with Maloney after Ross was sacked.

Vídeos OneFootball

The Scottish Cup winning Hibs icon went on to stay as a coach under Lee Johnson and then Nick Montgomery before eventually taking the reins himself, leading the team to a third-place finish in his debut season. He says that even in his brief spell working with Maloney, he picked up a great deal.

Shaun Maloney of Celtic celebrates after scoring during the CIS Insurance Cup Final soccer match between Celtic and Dunfermline at Hampden Park March 19, 2006. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Speaking via Glasgow Times, the Hibs boss said: “Even though it was a short period, I learned a lot from Shaun. I enjoyed working with him. He worked differently from Jack—Jack was very hands-on, while Shaun gave me a bit more responsibility early on because of the situation when he arrived. I enjoyed that.”

“The staff he brought—Valerio [Zuddas] on the defensive side, and Gary Caldwell with his experience—created a good blend. The new approach was fresh for me. I’ve learned something from every manager, and Sean was very good tactically, very organised, enthusiastic, and intense. I’ve benefited from that.”

Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Maloney and interim manager Martin O’Neill have sparked a major turnaround in performances at the Hoops and restored positivity on the pitch around the club and Gray knows exactly how tough the task will be today following Thursday’s outstanding victory over Feyenoord for the Scottish champions.

“They have had some very positive results,” he said. “No more so than (against Feyenoord). Winning away in Europe is not something they have been consistently doing. So, to go and do that, it was a massive result for them. It’s good for Scottish football as well.”

“I think the test, regardless of who the manager is and the coaching staff. They have got very good players, who have a way of playing. A lot of their players are used to winning games of football games as well. So, we know the challenge is going to be there.”

Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill. Celtic v theRangers. Premier Sports Cup, semi final at Hampden. 2 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“If it is going to be the final game in charge for Martin O’Neill, we want to make sure it doesn’t end on a high,” Gray added.

“I am sure he will want to be the opposite. That’s the challenge for us. The challenge for the players is to make sure we start the game as well as we can. On the front foot, and trying to put Tuesday night (2-0 defeat against Motherwell) right on Sunday.”

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