Martin O’Neill looks set to lead Celtic for the final time on Sunday.
The Parkhead legend, one of the club’s most successful managers, has won five of his six matches since stepping in for Brendan Rodgers on an interim basis.
Despite his strong impact, he is expected to hand over the reins to Wilfried Nancy early next week, with the Columbus Crew boss close to being officially confirmed. O’Neill has now outlined the timeline following talks with the Celtic board.
O’Neill revived Celtic’s Europa League hopes with a superb win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam and has chipped away at the gap in the Scottish Premiership title race, aiming to narrow it further this weekend.
His short but dramatic return—after six years out of football—appears to be nearing its end. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s match in Edinburgh, he said he expects his successor to arrive next week. Asked by Sky Sports whether things could change after the weekend fixture, he replied:
“Yes, I would imagine. I was speaking to some board members last night, and things are moving along well. I’m hopeful everything will be in place by early next week.”
That suggests Nancy’s first game will be at Celtic Park against Dundee next week. The exact timing of his official unveiling is still uncertain—he may even attend Sunday’s match at Easter Road.
Regardless, Nancy will immediately begin preparing with his staff for a demanding run of fixtures. After his debut, he faces Hearts, Roma, and then the League Cup final in quick succession, meaning there will be no slow introduction to life at Celtic.
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