13 March 2024 , 02:00
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Wigan boss Shaun Maloney has opened up about advice he received from legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Maloney took his first steps into management in December 2021 when he replaced Jack Ross at Hibernian, having previously been part of Roberto Martinez's coaching staff at Belgium. However, his tenure at Hibs only lasted a few months and he was ultimately sacked after winning just six of his 19 games in charge.
Following his departure, Ferguson reached out and offered Maloney some advice which the 41-year-old admits was a huge help even if he "couldn't comprehend" it at the time. "Things started well at Hibs, but we lost some of our best attacking players in the January," Maloney told FourFourTwo magazine.
"My relationship with people behind the scenes became strained and I left after four months in the job. I was in a bad place after that and spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson.
"He told me that it might end up being the best thing to ever happen to me, which I couldn't comprehend at the time. But he was right – it had been a huge learning curve – and those words helped me."
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Maloney is now in his second managerial role after returning to Wigan, the club he spent four years at as a player, in January 2023. At the time, the Latics were mired in a Championship relegation battle and had been deducted points after failing to pay their players on time.
"[Previous manager] Kolo Toure had only been in the job for a few weeks and the aim was simple when I arrived: to stop leaking so many goals and win some games," Maloney said. "We wanted to stay in the Championship and did improve, but it wasn't enough in the end.
Wigan boss Shaun Maloney has shared some advice he received from Ferguson (PA)"By the time March came around, off-field problems made survival impossible. It's been really difficult at times. The toughest time was when people weren't being paid.
"One of the focal points for the new owners has been trying to make things more sustainable, while trying to get the club on the right track in terms of football. We all want Wigan supporters to have a healthy team to follow."
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