Former Hibernian striker Tam McManus has revealed how his criticism of Shaun Maloney’s style of football led to an awkward conversation with the man now working alongside Martin O’Neill at Celtic.

Now McManus has recalled how he publicly criticised the football being played under Maloney at Easter Road, despite the pair having known each other for years.

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Speaking on the Let Me Be Frank podcast with former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie and host Simon Houston, McManus was asked whether his work as a pundit had ever caused problems with a former teammate.

“I’ll tell you, Shaun Maloney at Hibs.”

McManus explained that he had known Maloney since their Scotland under-21 days and was working for Hibs TV while also writing a newspaper column.

That created a difficult position when performances under Maloney became increasingly frustrating to watch.

“I couldn’t really say what I was thinking because I was working for Hibs as well,” McManus explained.

“And I sat through, I remember I sat through three 0-0s in a trot with Hibs TV. 0-0, 0-0, 0-0.”

The former striker said he eventually lost patience with the team’s lack of attacking threat.

He acknowledged that Maloney was dealing with difficult circumstances, including the departure of Martin Boyle, but that did not stop him criticising the performances.

“And it wasn’t really Shaun’s fault because they’d sold Martin Boyle. They were very, very blunt in the final third, right?”

McManus then recalled the strength of his reaction.

“I slaughtered him. I says, ‘It’s boring, it’s crap, it’s crap to watch. It’s two-minute passes.'”

According to McManus, the pair subsequently discussed his criticism, with Maloney pointing towards statistical evidence and the players who had left the club.

“So Shaun, I spoke to Shaun and he kind of went through the stats. Players were sold, XG, stuff like that, you know.

“And that was that. That was a kind of short conversation.”

The story has added relevance now that Maloney is working as O’Neill’s assistant.

O’Neill agreed with that assessment at Friday’s press conference and insisted solutions would be found.

However, McManus’s comments concerned Maloney’s time in charge of Hibs, not his work at Celtic, and there is no suggestion that the same approach is being imposed at Parkhead.

Maloney has also recently rejected suggestions that he is making the key football decisions behind the scenes, making clear that O’Neill remains in charge.

For McManus, the Hibs experience illustrated the difficulty of offering criticism when personal relationships are involved.

“But I think you’ve got to be honest. I think if you’re writing a column, you’ve got to give your honest opinion.

“And you’ve got pals in the game and you might upset people.

“But if you’re bland, if you’re vanilla, you’re not going to be a columnist.

“It’s not personal.”