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According to interim boss Martin O'Neill, Wilfried Nancy will be in the Celtic dugout for this weekend's Scottish Premiership match against Heart of Midlothian.

The manager has been part of detailed discussions with the Glasgow club for nearly seven days and currently looks set to wrap up an agreement.

O'Neill has held the role of caretaker manager for over four weeks since the previous manager stepped down, achieving six victories out of seven matches, cutting into Hearts' lead of the league table while also steering the Parkhead outfit to Premier Sports Cup place in the final.

The 73-year-old, who once coached the club from 2000 and 2005, had already said he believed the trip to Easter Road – which ended in a 2-1 win – would be his final act of his return at the helm.

Yet, O'Neill revealed he will lead Celtic in Wednesday's league encounter with Dens Park before Wilfried Nancy steps into the role.

"He's the individual who will be coming in," O'Neill told TalkSport. "I believed it was over last weekend, but there remains paperwork yet to be dealt with. The Dundee game is certainly my final game."

An Unusual Period

"This has been like a dream," O'Neill continued. "It resembles a part of your life that makes you wonder 'did all of that actually occur?' Am I delighted to have taken it on? Without a doubt."

Should the Hoops beat their opponents and the Jambos see off Killie on Wednesday, Nancy could potentially take his new club to summit of the table with a victory in his opening fixture in charge.

"It's a nice one for him against Hearts," O'Neill said. "A good way to start. It will be a challenging fixture of course and I wish him all the best. At least he takes over a team with a bit of self-belief."

The team's morale comes from O'Neill's success on the field over the past month or so, a period where he lost only once – a 3-1 loss at the Danish side during Europa League.

Nevertheless, the former Republic of Ireland national team boss and his players were then able to claim a first victory on the road on the continent since 2021 as they beat the Dutch club 3-1 last week.

Restoration of Confidence

"We were defeated to Midtjylland," O'Neill said. "That proved to be a tough game – a few weeks before they defeated Nottingham Forest, making it difficult. To travel to De Kuip and secure a victory away from home was excellent. We have given the team an opportunity, there are three matches remaining to attempt qualification, however, the Feyenoord game helped restore confidence."

Future Ambitions

Upon being asked for his thoughts on his time as interim boss, O'Neill says it has prompted consideration about whether he would like to continue in management in the future.

"I genuinely don't know," he said. "I will have a little think on everything following Wednesday evening."

"It was challenging," he continued. "There was the fear of failing – that is always a major worry. I used to boast that I was capable of doing this job equally as badly as many other managers."

"I've learned a lot. I have had some great coaching staff working with me and it's been a reinvigoration personally in several respects, interacting with young people daily."

A Potential Advisory Position?

On the subject of if he might remain at Celtic as an advisor, the ex- Leicester City, Aston Villa and Ireland manager stated this is completely the decision of Nancy.

"That is really for the new boss to make," O'Neill said. "He should be allowed his own space. If he wants my opinion on things, that's fine. If he doesn't, that's not a problem either. It's very much his team the minute he steps into the role."

TalkSport host the interviewer concluded by asking by asking O'Neill if he would be emotional or sentimental when the final whistle sounded on Wednesday.

"Do you mean if I will cry?" O'Neill responded. "Please don't be silly."