Martin O’Neill has confirmed his closing sport answerable for Celtic will probably be towards Dundee, with Wilfried Nancy’s appointment anticipated 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 anticipated to go away after Sunday’s 2-1 win at Hibs, however has an opportunity to take the Hoops prime of the Premiership with a win towards Dundee if Hearts slip up at house to Kilmarnock.
Sunday seventh 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 mentioned.
“A younger gentleman’s coming in and it is over to him.
“However clearly, we have got the large, large sport right here tomorrow night and clearly, I might prefer to try to win it if we will.
“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 gained all 4 of their Premiership video games underneath the Northern Irishman and in addition beat Rangers to succeed in this month’s League Cup closing.
They’re now two factors from leaders Hearts with a sport in hand after dropping eight behind earlier than Rodgers’ departure.
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership conflict 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 have been nice, clearly, and I could not reward them extremely sufficient.
“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 should hit the bottom operating after O’Neill’s masterclass
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Sky Sports activities’ Chris Sutton on the job completed by Martin O’Neill at Celtic, and the duty at hand for Wilfried Nancy
Since taking up from Brendan Rodgers, O’Neill noticed the hole on leaders Hearts shut from an eight-point deficit to simply two with a sport in hand.
The Hoops are additionally within the League Cup closing after beating Rangers, plus might but qualify for the subsequent stage of the Europa League after a 3-1 win away to Feyenoord.
Talking on Sky Sports activities, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton mentioned: “Martin took over a team which was low on confidence. There had been issues performance-wise all season.
“Had he misplaced just a few video games and issues went badly, folks would have mentioned ‘he wasn’t up for the job, he by no means ought to have come again’.
“I was worried about his legacy, because of my relationship with him, but I’m absolutely delighted for him.”
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MLS count on Tom Bogert assesses Wilfried Nancy’s influence and tells Celtic followers what they’ll count on from a ‘defining supervisor’
When requested what O’Neill’s spectacular run of outcomes 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 will not take lengthy for issues to show, with Martin doing so nicely. I believe it is actually tough for him as a result of there are three video games per week, and there is no actual time to work on the coaching floor.
“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 – stay on Sky Sports activities
- Roma (H) – Europa League – December 11
- St Mirren (N) – League Cup closing – December 14
- Dundee Utd (A) – Scottish Premiership – December 1 – stay on Sky Sports activities
- Aberdeen (H) – Scottish Premiership – December 21
