🔗 Share this article

According to interim boss Martin O'Neill, the Columbus Crew head coach will be leading Celtic during this weekend's Premiership clash versus Heart of Midlothian.

Columbus Crew's head coach has been involved in advanced negotiations with Glasgow club for almost a week and now seems poised to complete an agreement.

Martin O'Neill has served as caretaker manager for over a month ever since Brendan Rodgers stepped down, securing six wins in seven matches, cutting into Hearts' lead of the league table and guiding the Parkhead outfit to League Cup place in the final.

The 73-year-old, who once coached the club from 2000 and 2005, had already said he thought Sunday's visit to Easter Road – which ended in a 2-1 win – was likely to be his final act of his return in charge.

But, O'Neill revealed he is to oversee Celtic in the midweek Premiership match with Dundee before Nancy takes over.

"He's the individual who will be arriving," O'Neill said to TalkSport. "I assumed my time was up on Sunday, but there's some paperwork yet to be completed. Wednesday will assuredly be my last match."

A Surreal Spell

"This has been like a dream," O'Neill continued. "It's like a part of your life that makes you wonder 'did that really happen?' Am I pleased to have taken it on? Without a doubt."

Should the Hoops beat Dundee while the Jambos see off Killie in midweek, Nancy could potentially take Celtic to the top of the Premiership if they win in his debut game in charge.

"That's a nice one for Nancy against Hearts," remarked O'Neill. "A gentle introduction. It will be a challenging fixture of course and I wish him well. At the very least he's getting a team full of confidence."

That confidence comes from the positive run in matches in the last five weeks, where he has suffered just one defeat – a three-one loss at the Danish side in the Europa League.

However, the ex- Irish national team boss along with his squad subsequently managed to claim a first away win in Europe since 2021 with a win over the Dutch club 3-1 recently.

Restoration of Confidence

"We lost by them," O'Neill said. "That was a hard fixture – a couple of weeks before they defeated Nottingham Forest, so that was a challenge. To go to De Kuip and win on their patch was terrific. We have given ourselves an opportunity, with three matches remaining to attempt qualification, but that Feyenoord game was a restoration of confidence."

Thoughts on the Future

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

"I honestly don't know," he admitted. "I'll take a moment to reflect about things after Wednesday evening."

"It was not simple," he continued. "There was a fear of failure – which is an ever-present major worry. I used to boast that I was capable of doing the job just as poorly as many other managers."

"I have learned a lot. I've got some excellent coaching staff alongside me and it's been a reinvigoration for me in several respects, dealing with young people every day."

Consultancy Role?

Regarding whether he will stay at Celtic in a consultancy role, the former Leicester, Aston Villa and Ireland manager says that is completely the decision of Nancy.

"That is solely for the incoming manager to decide," O'Neill said. "He should be given full autonomy. If he wants my input on things, that's fine. If not, that is perfectly fine at all. It becomes his squad the moment he steps into the role."

Presenter the interviewer concluded by asking if O'Neill whether he might get emotional when the final whistle sounded on Wednesday.

"Are you asking if I will cry?" O'Neill replied. "Don't be silly."