Martin O’Neill’s interim spell at Celtic looks set to come to an end at Easter Road.
Since replacing Brendan Rodgers, O’Neill has won five of his six matches in charge, restoring confidence among the Hoops squad.
Despite this, Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy is seemingly waiting in the wings to replace him at the beginning of next week.
Nancy faces a daunting run of fixtures at the beginning of his spell. After his first game, it’s a top-of-the-table clash with Hearts, a Europa League tie glamour tie against Roma and the Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren.
For Chris Sutton, this creates a potentially awkward situation for the Frenchman, given O’Neill’s form.
Chris Sutton on Wilfried Nancy succeeding Martin O’Neill at Celtic
Nancy is an unknown quantity with a high-possession football brand of football. In many ways, he is the opposite of O’Neill.
He has, however, delivered silverware in MLS, piquing the interest of the Parkhead hierarchy.
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In his column for the Daily Record, Sutton said that Nancy would be ‘foolish’ not to take the advice he has been offered by O’Neill.
He said: “O’Neill was talking the other night about being available to offer his opinions to the new manager rather than advice.
“Nancy will have his own ideas but he’d be foolish not to take him up on his offer.
“It’s a slightly strange situation with the new man coming in because there’s been a real upturn in form and in terms of the feel-good factor around the squad.
“There’s a couple of ways to look at it. O’Neill might have stabilised and is handing over a squad that has found a bit of confidence and managed to string together some big results.
“There’s also the fact O’Neill could cast a bit of a shadow over the new man, given there’s a lot of fans who would have been more than happy to see the interim manager staying in place, at least until after the Cup Final.
“It’s understandable. Especially after a night like Thursday.
“It was a brilliant display and result from Celtic. Probably one not many people could see coming. Perhaps not even Martin himself.”
Celtic fans sent a message about Wilfried Nancy from Stateside. Do you agree?
Martin O’Neill’s interim spell at Celtic
O’Neill admitted to being extremely nervous ahead of his first game in charge of Celtic in over 20 years against Falkirk.
A 4-0 win eased those nerves, before he followed that up with a joyous 3-1 win over Rangers at Hampden, after extra-time.
His only defeat came against Midtjylland in the Europa League, but another 4-0 home win ensured that his domestic record remained perfect.
And what a final week it’s been so far. A last-minute win, a famous away result in Europe… a win at Easter Road could put the cherry on top.
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