Football Dec 07, 2025

Celtic set to announce Wilfried Nancy as Martin O'Neill confirms he will leave after Scottish Premiership match vs Dundee

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
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.

"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.

"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."

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 SportNews, 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."

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."

Tags:

football news id:13478308

Share this article

Related Posts

WSL2: Crystal Palace and Birmingham promoted to the WSL while Charlton will feature in play-off

WSL2: Crystal Palace and Birmingham promoted to the WSL while Charlton will feature in play-off

Crystal Palace and Birmingham have been promoted to the WSL, while Charlton will feature in the first promotion/relegation play-off for a place in Eng...

EFL play-offs 2026: Schedule, fixtures and Wembley finals for Championship, League One and League Two

EFL play-offs 2026: Schedule, fixtures and Wembley finals for Championship, League One and League Two

The EFL have confirmed the dates for the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two play-offs.All three divisions' regular seasons will c...

Liverpool transfer news: Arne Slot's Reds weighing up summer swoop for PSG's Bradley Barcola - Paper Talk

Liverpool transfer news: Arne Slot's Reds weighing up summer swoop for PSG's Bradley Barcola - Paper Talk

The top stories and transfer rumours from Saturday's newspapers...Liverpool are reportedly weighing up a summer swoop for Bradley Barcola and could po...

Bristol City 2-0 Stoke City: Roy Hodgson ends Robins tenure with a win

Bristol City 2-0 Stoke City: Roy Hodgson ends Robins tenure with a win

Goals from Delano Burgzorg and substitute Sam Bell saw Roy Hodgson end his short spell as Bristol City interim head coach with a 2-0 Championship vict...

Derby County 1-2 Sheffield United: Blades come from behind to end the Rams' play-off hopes

Derby County 1-2 Sheffield United: Blades come from behind to end the Rams' play-off hopes

Sheffield United staged a second-half comeback to win 2-1 at Pride Park and end Derby County's Sky Bet Championship play-off hopes.Derby were in contr...

Piero Hincapie, William Saliba and Gabriel personify Arsenal's warrior spirit as battle against fatigue continues in trophy hunt

Piero Hincapie, William Saliba and Gabriel personify Arsenal's warrior spirit as battle against fatigue continues in trophy hunt

Diego Simeone's tactical changes helped Atletico Madrid wrestle back control against Arsenal at the Metropolitano Stadium. His switch to a back five a...