Wilfried Nancy Will Take Charge for Celtic This Week - Martin O'Neill

According to caretaker manager Martin O'Neill, Wilfried Nancy is expected to be on the Celtic touchline during Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash versus Heart of Midlothian.

Columbus Crew's manager has been engaged in detailed discussions with the Parkhead side for almost seven days and currently appears ready to complete an agreement.

Martin O'Neill has held the role of caretaker manager for more than four weeks since Brendan Rodgers departed, achieving six victories out of seven matches, narrowing Hearts' lead in the league table while also steering the team to a Premier Sports Cup final spot.

The 73-year-old, a former boss of Celtic from 2000 to 2005, had previously suggested he thought the visit to Hibernian – a 2-1 victory – would be the last game in his return in charge.

Yet, O'Neill revealed he will oversee Celtic for the midweek Premiership match with Dens Park prior to Nancy assumes control.

"He's the person set to be arriving," stated O'Neill to TalkSport. "I believed my time was up last weekend, but there remains paperwork yet to be dealt with. Wednesday will assuredly be my last match."

A Bizarre Experience

"It's been unreal," he added. "It feels like a part in one's life where you think 'did that really happen?' Am I pleased that I took the role? Most certainly."

Should the Hoops beat their opponents and Hearts defeat Kilmarnock in midweek, the incoming boss could guide Celtic to summit of the table if they win during his debut game as manager.

"That's a good fixture for Nancy against Hearts," O'Neill said. "A nice introduction. It is going to be a difficult game of course and I wish him well. At the very least he's getting a team with a bit of self-belief."

That confidence comes from the positive run on the field in the last five weeks, a period where he suffered just one defeat – a 3-1 loss away to the Danish side during Europa League.

Nevertheless, the former Irish national team boss along with his squad were then able to claim their first victory on the road in Europe since way back in 2021 as they beat the Dutch club 3-1 recently.

Rebuilding Belief

"We lost by Midtjylland," O'Neill recalled. "That proved to be a hard fixture – a few weeks before they defeated Forest, making it difficult. To travel to De Kuip and win away from home was excellent. We've given ourselves a chance, there are three matches left to try to qualify, but that Feyenoord game helped restore confidence."

Future Ambitions

When asked for his reflections during his time as interim boss, O'Neill says it has led to thoughts about whether he desires to continue managing in the future.

"I honestly don't know," he said. "I'll take a moment to reflect on everything after Wednesday evening."

"It was challenging," he added. "I felt the fear of failing – that is always a major worry. I once joked I could do the job equally as badly as a lot of other managers."

"I've learned much. I've got some great young coaches working with me and it has served as a refresh personally in many ways, interacting with young people daily."

A Potential Advisory Position?

On the subject of whether he will stay at Celtic as an advisor, the former Leicester, Villa and Republic of Ireland boss stated this is completely the decision of Wilfried Nancy.

"That is solely for the incoming manager to decide," O'Neill said. "He should be given full autonomy. If he wants my opinion on matters, that's fine. If he doesn't, that is perfectly fine either. It becomes his team the moment he enters the job."

TalkSport host Jim White concluded by asking if O'Neill if he would be emotional or sentimental once the final whistle blew on Wednesday.

"Do you mean am I going to cry?" O'Neill replied. "Don't be silly."