Shaun Maloney braced for hard work under 'demanding taskmaster' Gordon Strachan

Hugh Macdonald

Chief Sports Writer

Wednesday 20 March 2013

THE leafy glades of a corner of Erskine offer no respite to Shaun Maloney.

Shaun Maloney trips Gareth Bale in Cardiff, conceding a penalty from which the Welshman equalised

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Hugh MacDonald

The rigours of a struggle of the bottom of one table have been replaced by the demands of lifting a team off the foot of another.

Sitting in the five-star Scotland squad hotel, the 30-year-old knows from bruising experience that the hard work will start on Friday when the match against Wales begin. Maloney, who was outstanding for Wigan Athletic against Newcastle United on Sunday, is braced for a shift. He played for Celtic in two stints and had his best season in the 2005-2006 campaign when he won both the player and young player of the year awards. His manager was Gordon Strachan and Maloney described his mentor as "a demanding taskmaster".

Maloney has played under coaches of varying styles during his career, from Martin O'Neill to Roberto Martinez, now his manager at a Wigan side facing its annual embrace with relegation. He now rejoins Strachan as Scotland face the immediate task of climbing from the bottom of Group A in a qualifying campaign that has offered not a victory but persistent disappointment.Maloney was expansive about the man charged with leading the revival. "He's very enthusiastic as a coach and very sound tactically," he said. "You could see in his time at Celtic that the team was very organised and they did pretty well in the Champions League. Those organisational and coaching skills are what stands out to players."Remembering his first spell at Celtic, he said: "I know I enjoyed his coaching. I had just come back from a pretty serious injury and the next season or so I spent with him. I learned a lot. I started playing a different position as well. There were certainly things he taught me that have stayed with me in my career."However, he was quietly revelatory on the Strachan work ethic. "The majority of players who worked under him will have learned that he wants to play a certain type of way. He is very demanding. The work-rate he desires from every player is pretty difficult to continually produce. But that is something he demands. And that is each day in training, not just in games. He trains the ways he plays and that can differ with other managers."Maloney, then, is prepared for days of intensive work before a crucial match. The callow player whose size seemed to condemn him to a role on the wing has matured into a gifted, technically-adept performer who can be used in a variety of roles. "For my club, I have been central striker and central, left and right midfield. I don't really have a preferred position. We have played numerous formations at Wigan and I think my manager likes to play me more centrally. I do enjoy that, but to be honest I'm just enjoying playing in the Premier League in general."The enjoyment in the World Cup qualifying campaign has been severely limited, with the defeat 2-1 defeat in Cardiff being a low point. "It was pretty soul-destroying for a couple of days after," said Maloney who tripped Gareth Bale for the Tottenham Hotspur player to score the equaliser from the spot. "We had Belgium a few days later, but we knew how big the game in Cardiff was for both countries. That trip in general was pretty bad because not long after the manager [Craig Levein] lost his job."He refused to complain about the pressure consequently placed upon the squad. "That's what happens when you don't win, particularly after our first two home games," he said of draws with Serbia and Macedonia. "We knew the pressure would be on if the result didn't go our way and we knew the pressure the manager was under."Maloney is likely to face Bale at Hampden on Friday evening with Strachan a strong supporter of the Wigan player. The Scotland internationalist's view of his illustrious opponent is measured. "I've only played against him a few times so it's difficult to judge," he replied when asked if Bale was worth the £80m price tag that now routinely accompanies him. "In terms of the last Wales game, he was outstanding. You can tell he's at a certain level that is above the majority of the players on the pitch. I don't know if he will go on to be one of the best players in the world. He's 23 and it's up to him – but he has a chance."Mark McGhee, Scotland's assistant manager, has come up with a plan to combat the Welsh player after constant reviews of the match in Cardiff and on trips to watch Tottenham Hotspur. It is highly unlikely that Scotland will adopt a man-marking system with the onus placed on a communal effort to restrict the impact of Bale. "It's hard to stop him when he is in full flow. You need to try to stop him getting the ball in positions where he can find space," said Maloney. "It's easy to say that though. There will be times when he gets that space, so as a team we will have to defend and stop the threat."Steven Naismith, his international team-mate, has described Maloney as Scotland's answer to Bale. "Steven was being overly flattering by a fair stretch," said Maloney. ''But I'm feeling reasonably good and it will be a big few months at club level."With Wigan he faces both an FA Cup semi-final and a testing run-in to the league season. Before that, though, there is hard work to be done at Hampden.

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Shaun Maloney braced for hard work under 'demanding taskmaster' Gordon Strachan

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