🔗 Share this article

As stated by caretaker manager Martin O'Neill, Wilfried Nancy is expected to be leading Celtic during Sunday's Premiership clash against Heart of Midlothian.

Columbus Crew's head coach has been involved in serious talks with the Parkhead side for nearly seven days and currently appears ready to complete a contract.

Martin O'Neill has been acting as caretaker manager for over a month since Brendan Rodgers departed, notching six wins in seven games, cutting into the lead at the top in the Scottish Premiership and guiding the team to a League Cup final spot.

The 73-year-old, a former boss of Celtic between 2000 to 2005, had previously suggested he believed Sunday's visit to Hibernian – which ended in a 2-1 win – was likely to be the last game of his second stint in charge.

However, O'Neill stated he is to lead Celtic for Wednesday's league encounter against Dundee prior to Nancy steps into the role.

"He's the man who will be taking over," stated O'Neill to the radio station. "I believed my time was up last weekend, however there's some paperwork still to be dealt with. Wednesday will definitely be my last match."

A Surreal Spell

"It has been unreal," he added. "It resembles a chapter in one's life that makes you wonder 'did all of that actually occur?' Am I happy to have taken it on? Without a doubt."

If Celtic defeat their opponents while Hearts see off Kilmarnock in midweek, Nancy could lead his new club to the top of the table with a victory in his opening fixture as manager.

"That's a nice one for Nancy versus Hearts," O'Neill said. "A nice introduction. It is going to be a challenging fixture naturally but good luck to him. At the very least he inherits a side with some confidence."

This self-belief stems from the positive run during games in the last month or so, where he has lost only once – a three-one defeat at Midtjylland during Europa League.

However, the ex- Irish national team boss along with his squad subsequently managed to claim a first away win on the continent since 2021 as they beat the Dutch club 3-1 last week.

A Confidence Boost

"We lost to Midtjylland," O'Neill recalled. "That proved to be a tough game – a few weeks before they defeated Forest, so that was difficult. To travel to Feyenoord and win on their patch was excellent. We've given the team a chance, with three games remaining to try to qualify, but that victory in Rotterdam was key for belief."

Future Ambitions

Upon being asked for his thoughts on his time as interim boss, O'Neill says it has led to consideration about whether he would like to continue managing going forward.

"I honestly am unsure," he said. "I'll take a moment to reflect about things after Wednesday evening."

"It was not simple," he added. "I felt a fear of failure – that is an ever-present major worry. I once joked I could do the job just as poorly as a lot of other managers."

"I have learned much. I have had some excellent coaching staff working with me and it's been a refresh personally in several respects, working with young players daily."

Consultancy Role?

On the subject of whether he will stay at Celtic as an advisor, the ex- Leicester, Villa and Ireland boss stated this is completely up to Nancy.

"That decision is solely for the incoming manager to decide," O'Neill stated. "He should be allowed his own space. Should he desire my advice on things, that's fine. If he doesn't, that is perfectly fine at all. It's very much his team the moment he steps into the job."

TalkSport host the interviewer concluded by asking by asking O'Neill if he would be emotional once the final whistle sounded in the Dundee game.

"Do you mean am I going to get tearful?" O'Neill replied. "Don't be ridiculous."