Former Hibs boss Shaun Maloney ‘set to be Wigan manager’ as fellow ex-Celtic star Kolo Toure SACKED
WIGAN want Shaun Maloney as their new boss - after Kolo Toure was sacked after 59 days.
The Ivorian was axed by Latics chiefs following a nine-game winless run since taking over.
Wigan FA Cup-winning legend Maloney, who spent four years at the club as a player, is now set to replace Toure in the hotseat.
The 40-year-old Scot has been out of work since being sacked by Hibs in April following a short stint as boss.
Maloney's first senior coaching role was as assistant to Roberto Martinez, his gaffer at Wigan, with the Belgium national team.
He left there to take on his first full-time managerial role with Hibs but his time in charge was short.
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In 19 games after he replaced Jack Ross, Hibs won six, drew six and lost seven under Maloney before he was dismissed.
His sacking from Hibs followed a bitter exchange with CEO Ben Kensell, and owner Ron Gordon admitted at the time he thought his club were heading for RELEGATION under the former Scotland winger.
He was closely linked with the Dundee job when James McPake was given the boot but it never came to fruition.
The 40-year-old has since been doing mainly TV punditry work but now, according to Wigan Today, is the preferred man to succeed Toure.
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Maloney interviewed for the job when it was handed to Toure and is understood to have impressed Latics chiefs enough that they will give him license to lead a rebuild of the Greater Manchester-based club.
Former Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool defender Toure failed to win any of the nine games he had as boss of Wigan and was roundly booed at the weekend as his side lost to Luton and looking up at everyone else from the bottom of the Championship table.
Maloney has fond memories from his time at Wigan as he was a regular in the Premier League and also won the FA Cup.
It was his corner kick that Ben Watson famously nodded home against Man City to win the prestigious trophy.
He also turned out for Aston Villa, Chicago Fire and Hull City before retiring in 2017.
It was after going through his badges with Celtic and working with the development sides that he joined the Belgium national team set-up in 2018.
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