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Per the words of interim boss Martin O'Neill, the Columbus Crew head coach is expected to be in the Celtic dugout during Sunday's Scottish Premiership fixture against Hearts.

The manager has been involved in serious talks with Glasgow club for almost a week and now appears ready to wrap up a deal.

Martin O'Neill has held the role of temporary gaffer for more than four weeks ever since Brendan Rodgers departed, achieving six victories in seven games, cutting into the lead at the top of the league table while also steering the club to a Premier Sports Cup final spot.

The veteran manager, who once coached Celtic between 2000 to 2005, had already said he believed the visit to Easter Road – a 2-1 victory – was likely to be the last game in his second stint in charge.

Yet, O'Neill revealed he will lead the team for Wednesday's Premiership match with Dundee before Nancy takes over.

"He's the individual set to be coming in," O'Neill said to TalkSport. "I believed my time was up on Sunday, but there's some paperwork yet to be sorted. The Dundee game will assuredly be my final game."

A Surreal Spell

"It has been like a dream," O'Neill continued. "It's like a chapter of your life where you think 'did that really happen?' Am I pleased to have taken it on? Without a doubt."

If Celtic defeat their opponents and the Jambos defeat Killie in midweek, Nancy could potentially take Celtic to summit of the Premiership with a victory during his opening fixture as manager.

"That's a nice one for Nancy versus Hearts," remarked O'Neill. "A good way to start. It is going to be a challenging fixture of course and good luck to him. At the very least he's getting a side full of self-belief."

This self-belief stems from O'Neill's success on the field in the last five weeks, where he has suffered just one defeat – a three-one defeat away to Midtjylland during Europa League.

However, the ex- Irish manager along with his squad then bounced back to achieve their first away win in Europe since 2021 by defeating Feyenoord 3-1 recently.

Restoration of Confidence

"We were defeated to Midtjylland," O'Neill said. "That was a difficult match – a couple of weeks before they defeated Nottingham Forest, making it difficult. To travel to Feyenoord and secure a victory away from home was terrific. We have given ourselves a chance, with three games left to try to qualify, but that Feyenoord game was key for belief."

Future Ambitions

When asked for his reflections on his spell as caretaker, O'Neill says it has prompted consideration about whether he would like to carry on in management going forward.

"I genuinely don't know," he admitted. "I'll take a little think about things after the match on Wednesday."

"It wasn't easy," he continued. "I felt apprehension about failing – which is always a major worry. I used to boast I could do this job just as poorly as many other managers."

"I've learned much. I've got some great young coaches working with me and it has served as a refresh personally in many ways, dealing with young players every day."

Consultancy Role?

On the subject of if he might remain at Celtic in a consultancy role, the former Leicester, Villa and Republic of Ireland manager stated this is entirely up to Wilfried Nancy.

"That decision is really for the new boss to make," O'Neill said. "He should be given full autonomy. If he wants my opinion on things, that's fine. If not, that is perfectly fine at all. It's very much his team the moment he enters the role."

TalkSport host Jim White concluded by asking by asking O'Neill if he would be emotional when the full-time whistle sounded in the Dundee game.

"Do you mean if I will cry?" O'Neill responded. "Don't be stupid."