Shaun Maloney reveals Celtic regret that lead to Aston Villa struggles as he admits 'I was letting people down'

Shaun Maloney has revealed his Celtic exit came too early and led to a difficult first six months at Aston Villa.

Maloney began his career at Parkhead, but didn't really shine until Gordon Strachan became manager in 2005/06. He scored 14 goals helping Celtic win both the league and Cup double and was named Scotland's Player and Young Player of the Year. But just six months later, Maloney found himself back with his old boss Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa after failing to agree a contract extension with Celtic.

However, his first time playing in the Premier League didn't go as planned, and he returned to Celtic after only 18 months. Injuries plagued Maloney during his second stint in Glasgow, making it hard for him to play consistently. Not wanting to tarnish his reputation at the club he loved, he decided to leave again. This time, he went to Wigan where he won the FA Cup under Roberto Martinez, who he would later assist at Belgium.

Now back at the Latics as manager, Maloney told FourFourTwo: "I probably wasn't ready to leave Celtic and found the first six months difficult. I spoke to Gordon and he urged me to give it a proper go - I'm happy I did, as we had a brilliant young side with the likes of Gabby Agbonlahor and Ashley Young. I soon went back to Celtic, but had loads of injury issues and thought I was letting people down. In the end, I needed another fresh start."

Maloney made his Celtic bow on April 2001 as O'Neill's side ran out 3-0 winners at Ibrox but he'd have to bide his time to break into the first-team. He recalled: "Scottish football was in a great place in the early 2000s. I remember Henrik Larsson and John Hartson both being injured ahead of the UEFA Cup last 16 first leg against Stuttgart, and I got my