Former Celtic player tipped to be next Scotland manager

Quite a few former Celtic players are proving their mettle in management right now. And with Steve Clarke facing increasing questions over his Scotland future, having won just 1 game out of their last 16, there could be a vacancy in the national team hot seat soon. The goalless draw against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal does give him some room after a winless run.

Clarke has enjoyed more success than anybody would have expected when he was handed the Scotland job in 2019. After all, he guided the national team to back-to-back appearances at the European Championships.

Their performances at those two tournaments were far from ideal though. And one cannot overlook the fact that Scotland have some top talent at the moment. Players like Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay, Kieran Tierney, John McGinn and a few others play at the top level.

If Clarke were to leave, who would replace him as Scotland manager? Shaun Maloney has been backed for the job. As reported by Celtic Shorts, Charlie Mulgrew told Gambling.com:

"I think somebody like Shaun Maloney would be a really good Scotland manager. He’s worked under Roberto Martinez at Belgium, and I think he’s a real forward thinking coach that likes to have possession. So somebody like that I think would be really good for Scotland."

Former Celtic player tipped to be next Scotland manager

Maloney came through the ranks at Celtic and had a couple of stints with the club as a player. He was even linked with the Parkhead job for a short while before Ange Postecoglou became the Hoops manager.

Maloney did end up managing in the Scottish Premiership with Hibernian but it was not a successful one and he was quickly shown the exit door. He has been the Wigan Athletic manager since early 2023 though.

Of course, Maloney has not found a ton of success in management so far even though he is highly regarded. Thus, his appointment would come with a lot of raised eyebrows but it has the potential to be a good decision based on the Scotland national team squad.