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As stated by interim boss Martin O'Neill, Wilfried Nancy is slated to be leading Celtic for this weekend's Premiership match versus Heart of Midlothian.

The manager has been engaged in advanced negotiations with Glasgow club for nearly a week and now appears ready to complete a deal.

Martin O'Neill has been acting as caretaker manager for more than four weeks since the previous manager stepped down, notching six wins out of seven matches, cutting into Hearts' lead of the Scottish Premiership and guiding the club to a Premier Sports Cup place in the final.

The 73-year-old, who once coached the club between 2000 to 2005, had already indicated he expected the visit to Easter Road – a 2-1 victory – would be his final act in his second spell in charge.

Yet, O'Neill stated he will oversee the team for Wednesday's Premiership match against Dens Park prior to Nancy steps into the role.

"He is the man set to be coming in," O'Neill said to TalkSport. "I assumed my time was up last weekend, but there's some formalities still to be dealt with. The Dundee game is certainly my last match."

An Unusual Period

"It's been unreal," he added. "It feels like a chapter of your life that makes you wonder 'did that really happen?' Am I delighted that I've done it? Most certainly."

Should the Hoops beat their opponents and Hearts defeat Kilmarnock on Wednesday, Nancy could potentially take Celtic to the top of the Premiership if they win in his first match as manager.

"That's a nice one for him versus Hearts," O'Neill said. "A good way to start. It will be a challenging fixture naturally but good luck to him. At the very least he's getting a team full of self-belief."

That confidence is a result of the positive run on the field in the last month or so, where he has suffered just one defeat – a three-one loss at the Danish side in the European competition.

However, the former Irish manager and his players were then able to achieve their first victory on the road on the continent since way back in 2021 as they beat Feyenoord 3-1 recently.

Restoration of Confidence

"We lost by Midtjylland," O'Neill recalled. "That proved to be a hard fixture – a few weeks before they mauled Forest, making it difficult. To travel to De Kuip and secure a victory on their patch was terrific. We have given the team a chance, there are three games remaining to try to qualify, however, the Feyenoord game helped restore belief."

Thoughts on the Future

Upon being asked for his thoughts on his spell as interim boss, O'Neill says it has led to consideration on if he would like to continue in management going forward.

"I genuinely don't know," he said. "I will have a moment to reflect about things following Wednesday evening."

"It was not simple," he continued. "I felt a fear of failure – that is an ever-present major worry. I once joked I could do this job just as poorly as many other managers."

"I have learned much. I have had some great coaching staff alongside me and it has served as a refresh for me in several respects, interacting with young people every day."

Consultancy Role?

Regarding if he might remain at Celtic in a consultancy role, the ex- Leicester, Aston Villa and Republic of 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 allowed his own space. If he wants my opinion on matters, that is acceptable. If he doesn't, that's not a problem either. It becomes his team the moment he steps into the breach."

Presenter the interviewer concluded by asking if O'Neill if he would be emotional or sentimental when the full-time whistle blew in the Dundee game.

"Do you mean am I going to get tearful?" O'Neill responded. "Don't be silly."