Shaun Maloney admits he has 'complete closure' over his time at Hibs and says former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers helped him massively during his time at Easter Road.
It was four months of missed chances for the former Hoops star, whose first foray into management went awry at the Hibees after gaining invaluable experience under top coaches Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers systems at Belgium and Celtic respectively. But the former Scotland star revealed he has no lingering qualms over his time in Leith after being the successor to Jack Ross.
The 39-year-old also lifted the lid on the 'invaluable' relationship he had pre, during and post his time in Edinburgh from mentor Rodgers and admits he has learned so much from his short reign. He told the Coaches Voice: “We’ve stayed in touch, and he [Rodgers] was brilliant to speak with before I took the manager’s job at Hibernian – as he was during my time there and after I left. Some of the best managers are really, really gracious with their time.
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“I learned so much in my time [at Hibs]. I learned that I absolutely love the role, and that I love working with players as a manager - the intensity of working with the players every day, a game every three or four days, and managing the different individuals within a group.
“After we left, my staff and I spent many hours reviewing everything before we met up for three days to reflect, in detail, on our time there. There were so many things to discuss, but I was very clear on the team and players. I knew why we were one of the best teams in the league, defensively – behind only Celtic and Rangers – and why we were really struggling in attack.
“I was also really clear on where we were headed. The big thing I had to take away was about how I could have made the team more efficient and clinical in the final third – the areas we could get into, and the numbers we could attack with.
“After leaving Hibs, I spent four to five months working on that. I also spent a lot of time watching other teams. I was focusing on different teams at different levels, and how they became more efficient when they attacked. My level of detail when attacking, I think, is now on a par with where I am defensively. I have complete closure on leaving Hibs."
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