Celtic set to announce Wilfried Nancy as Martin O’Neill confirms he will leave after Scottish Premiership match vs Dundee
Martin O’Neill has confirmed his final game in charge of Celtic will be against Dundee, with Wilfried Nancy’s appointment expected imminently.
73-year-old O’Neill returned to the Celtic dugout in October, 20 years on from his first spell as Parkhead boss, after Brendan Rodgers’ resignation.
He was expected to leave after Sunday’s 2-1 win at Hibs, but has a chance to take the Hoops top of the Premiership with a win against Dundee if Hearts slip up at home to Kilmarnock.
Sunday 7th December 2:30pm
Kick off 3:00pm
“You will be relieved to know that this is definitely it for tomorrow evening, so I’ve been assured of it by the board,” O’Neill said.
“A young gentleman’s coming in and it’s over to him.
“But obviously, we’ve got the big, big game here tomorrow evening and obviously, I’d like to try and win it if we can.
“It won’t be easy. Dundee did this a few weeks ago, so we’ve got a bit of a job in our hands.”
Celtic have won all four of their Premiership games under the Northern Irishman and also beat Rangers to reach this month’s League Cup final.
They are now two points from leaders Hearts with a game in hand after dropping eight behind before Rodgers’ departure.
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership clash between Hibernian and Celtic
“The nice thing about the players is that they have responded and they’ve shown a willingness to try and implement some of the things that I think are important about the game,” the Northern Irishman added.
“That’s really it. Some have maybe even been reluctant to do it, I don’t know. I’m joking.
“They’ve been great, obviously, and I couldn’t praise them highly enough.
“We’ve got one more game to go, for me. They’ve got big, big matches ahead, and those games are really important to them. The response has been terrific.”
Sutton: Nancy must hit the ground running after O’Neill’s masterclass
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Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton on the job done by Martin O’Neill at Celtic, and the task at hand for Wilfried Nancy
Since taking over from Brendan Rodgers, O’Neill saw the gap on leaders Hearts close from an eight-point deficit to just two with a game in hand.
The Hoops are also in the League Cup final after beating Rangers, plus could yet qualify for the next stage of the Europa League after a 3-1 win away to Feyenoord.
Speaking on Sky Sports, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton said: “Martin took over a team which was low on confidence. There had been issues performance-wise all season.
“Had he lost a few games and things went badly, people would have said ‘he wasn’t up for the job, he never should have come back’.
“I was worried about his legacy, because of my relationship with him, but I’m absolutely delighted for him.”
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MLS expert Tom Bogert assesses Wilfried Nancy’s impact and tells Celtic fans what they can expect from a ‘defining manager’
When asked what O’Neill’s impressive run of results means for Nancy, Sutton added: “Every passing win is going to really put the pressure on him because everybody will expect Wilfred Nancy to come in with the team, which seems to be more confident, and hit the ground running.
“It won’t take long for things to turn, with Martin doing so well. I think it’s really difficult for him because there are three games a week, and there’s no real time to work on the training ground.
“If he does play a back three, which is apparently the way that he plays at Columbus Crew, to come in and implement that – I don’t think that’s easy.”
Celtic’s upcoming fixtures
- Dundee (H) – Scottish Premiership – Wednesday
- Hearts (H) – Scottish Premiership – Sunday – live on Sky Sports
- Roma (H) – Europa League – December 11
- St Mirren (N) – League Cup final – December 14
- Dundee Utd (A) – Scottish Premiership – December 1 – live on Sky Sports
- Aberdeen (H) – Scottish Premiership – December 21
