Why Wigan Athletic boss 'was always destined for management'

That's the view of Marco Silva, who brings his Fulham side to the Brick Community Stadium on Saturday for FA Cup fourth-round action.

Silva was Maloney's final manager at Hull City before the Scot called time on his playing career in 2017.

And he remembers the tail end of Maloney's time on Humberside, which confirmed a pathway to management was at the forefront of his mind.

"Shaun always had an eye on everything we were doing," said Silva. "I always had chats with him and, most of the time, at the end of the sessions, he would ask questions. He was interested in everything!

“It was in his mind to try and get the chance to be a coach and it was clear to me that if he was going to get the chance, he was going (to take it). He was a top professional, a lovely guy and I’ve been in contact with him.

"Even when he was assistant to (Roberto) Martinez at Belgium, we met sometimes, and we met in England as well. It will be really good to see him before and after the match."

The meeting of minds between Maloney and Silva is one of several sub-plots to the game.

Another sees young winger Martial Godo - who spent last season on loan with Latics - returning to face his former club, having established himself as a top-flight player.

“Martial had a good spell there last season," said Silva. "My relationship with Shaun Maloney created the scenario for him to go there, and it was a good spell. It was nice to see everyone at Wigan help him and now he is our player.

“He is making big steps. When he first arrived at our club for our Under-21s, he came from really low divisions. His spell at Wigan was important for him.

"I had a conversation with Martial about why it was an important moment for him to go out of his comfort zone and play senior football week in, week out. When he came back for pre-season, he was a different player, a lot more mature. He’s going in the right direction.”