Per the words of interim boss Martin O'Neill, Wilfried Nancy is slated to be in the Celtic dugout for Sunday's Scottish Premiership fixture against Heart of Midlothian.
Columbus Crew's head coach has been engaged in detailed discussions with the Parkhead side for nearly a week and currently appears ready to wrap up an agreement.
O'Neill has held the role of caretaker manager for more than a month since Brendan Rodgers stepped down, securing six victories out of seven games, cutting into Hearts' lead in the Scottish Premiership and guiding the Parkhead outfit to a Premier Sports Cup place in the final.
The 73-year-old, a former boss of Celtic from 2000 and 2005, had already said he thought Sunday's trip to Easter Road – which ended in a 2-1 win – would be his final act in his return in charge.
However, O'Neill stated he will lead the team in the midweek league encounter with Dundee prior to Wilfried Nancy assumes control.
"He is the person who will be arriving," O'Neill told TalkSport. "I believed my time was up last weekend, but there's some paperwork still to be sorted. The Dundee game will assuredly be my last match."
An Unusual Period
"It has been surreal," O'Neill continued. "It feels like a chapter of your life that makes you wonder 'did that actually occur?' Am I happy that I've done it? Absolutely."
Should Celtic beat their opponents while Hearts defeat Killie in midweek, the incoming boss could potentially take Celtic to the top of the table with a victory in his opening fixture in charge.
"That's a good fixture for Nancy against Hearts," remarked O'Neill. "A good way to start. It will be a difficult game naturally and I wish him well. At the very least he's getting a side with some confidence."
This self-belief stems from O'Neill's success during games over the past five weeks, where he has suffered just one defeat – a three-one loss away to the Danish side during Europa League.
However, the former Irish manager along with his squad subsequently managed to achieve a first victory on the road in Europe since way back in 2021 with a win over Feyenoord 3-1 recently.
Rebuilding Belief
"We lost to Midtjylland," O'Neill said. "That proved to be a tough game – a couple of weeks before they defeated Forest, so that was a challenge. To go to De Kuip and win away from home was fantastic. We've given ourselves a chance, there are three matches left to try to qualify, but that victory in Rotterdam was a restoration of confidence."
Future Ambitions
When asked for his reflections on his time as caretaker, O'Neill stated it has led to consideration about whether he would like to carry on managing in the future.
"I honestly don't know," he said. "I will have a wee think about things after Wednesday evening."
"It was not simple," he added. "I felt a fear of failure – which is always a big concern. I once joked that I was capable of doing the job equally as badly as a lot of other managers."
"I've learned much. I've got some excellent coaching staff working with me and it's been a new lease on life for me in several respects, working with young people daily."
Consultancy Role?
On the subject of whether he will stay at Celtic in a consultancy role, the ex- Leicester, Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland manager says that is entirely up to Wilfried Nancy.
"That is solely for Nancy to make," O'Neill said. "He must be allowed his own space. Should he desire my advice on things, that's fine. If not, that's not a problem either. It's very much his team the moment he enters the job."
Presenter Jim White concluded by asking by asking O'Neill if he would be emotional once the full-time whistle sounded in the Dundee game.
"Are you asking am I going to get tearful?" O'Neill replied. "Don't be silly."
