Martin O’Neill expects Sunday’s Scottish Premiership trip to Hibernian will be his final match as Celtic’s interim manager.
The 73-year-old returned to the Celtic dugout in October, 20 years after his first spell at Parkhead, following Brendan Rodgers’ resignation. One month on, Celtic are close to appointing Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy.
“I was speaking to some of the board members last night, things are progressing very nicely, so I’m hoping that things will be in place by the beginning of next week,” O’Neill told Sky Sports News when asked about the managerial search. “It has been a whirlwind time. If you ask me deep down, have I loved it? Yeah, I probably have, [even if] the face doesn’t always say that!
“Did I know that this was always going to be interim? Yeah, of course. Have I got used to the surroundings here at this minute? I’m not sure about that, really strange from my days way back at Celtic Park. I think the lovely thing about it is, the team, the players, they’ve really responded.”
O’Neill highlighted the team’s response, pointing to the comeback and performance in the Europa League win at Feyenoord as an example. “We were a goal behind after 11 minutes, when we probably should have been one in front. Heads could have easily gone down, but no, they fought back, played some great, great stuff, and we won. We deserved to win a game in Holland, in the Europa League.”
O’Neill’s results as Celtic interim manager
– Celtic 4-0 Falkirk – Scottish Premiership
– Celtic 3-1 Rangers – League Cup
– Midtjylland 3-1 Celtic – Europa League
– Celtic 4-0 Kilmarnock – Scottish Premiership
– St Mirren 0-1 Celtic – Scottish Premiership
– Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic – Europa League
In the month O’Neill has been in temporary charge, Celtic have won all four domestic matches, including the 3-1 victory over Rangers to reach the League Cup final, plus the Europa League win at Feyenoord — the club’s first away European win since November 2021.
If Nancy is appointed in the coming days, his first match in charge is expected to be the Premiership home game against Dundee on Wednesday. The 48-year-old began at CF Montreal, where he won the Canadian Championship, then helped Columbus Crew to the MLS Cup and Leagues Cup; he also guided Columbus to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final and was named MLS Coach of the Year.
When asked what Nancy should expect at Celtic, O’Neill said: “Hopefully, he’ll find a side that is bubbling with a bit of confidence, which is great, and that’s a restoration of that there, I suppose, from previous weeks in that sense. He’ll have a fair idea of what he’s coming into, and he doesn’t need any guidance from me.”
Celtic’s upcoming fixtures
– Hibernian (A) – Scottish Premiership – Sunday – live on Sky Sports
– Dundee (H) – Scottish Premiership – December 3
– Hearts (H) – Scottish Premiership – December 7 – live on Sky Sports
– Roma (H) – Europa League – December 11
– St Mirren (N) – League Cup final – December 14