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Per the words of caretaker manager Martin O'Neill, the Columbus Crew head coach is expected to be on the Celtic touchline for this weekend's Premiership fixture versus Heart of Midlothian.

Columbus Crew's manager has been involved in advanced negotiations with the Glasgow club for nearly seven days and currently looks set to wrap up a deal.

O'Neill has served as caretaker manager for more than a month ever since the previous manager departed, securing six wins out of seven games, narrowing Hearts' lead of the Scottish Premiership while also steering the club to Premier Sports Cup final spot.

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

Yet, the interim boss disclosed he is to manage the team for the midweek Premiership match with Dens Park before Wilfried Nancy steps into the role.

"He's the man that will be taking over," O'Neill told the radio station. "I thought it was over last weekend, but there's some formalities yet to be completed. The Dundee game is certainly my final game."

A Surreal Spell

"This has been unreal," O'Neill continued. "It resembles a chapter of your life that makes you wonder 'did that really happen?' Am I happy that I've done it? Absolutely."

Should the Hoops defeat Dundee and the Jambos see off Kilmarnock on Wednesday, the incoming boss could potentially take Celtic to the top of the table with a victory during his opening fixture as manager.

"That's a decent start for Nancy 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 the very least he takes over a side with some self-belief."

The team's morale stems from the interim manager's results in matches in the last five weeks, where he has suffered just one defeat – a 3-1 loss at Midtjylland in the Europa League.

However, the ex- Irish national team boss and his players then bounced back to secure a first away win on the continent since 2021 as they beat the Dutch club 3-1 recently.

A Confidence Boost

"We were defeated to Midtjylland," O'Neill recalled. "That was a difficult match – a couple of weeks earlier they mauled Forest, so that was a challenge. To travel to De Kuip and win on their patch was excellent. We've given the team a chance, there are three games left to try to qualify, but that Feyenoord game helped restore belief."

Future Ambitions

When asked for his reflections during his time as caretaker, O'Neill stated it has prompted thoughts about whether he would like to continue managing in the future.

"I genuinely am unsure," he admitted. "I'll take a wee think on everything following Wednesday evening."

"It was not simple," he continued. "There was a fear of failure – that is an ever-present big concern. I used to boast that I was capable of doing the job equally as badly as many other managers."

"I've learned much. I have had some excellent young coaches working with me and it has served as a refresh personally in many ways, interacting with young players daily."

A Potential Advisory Position?

Regarding if he might remain at Celtic in a consultancy role, the former Leicester, Villa and Ireland boss stated this is entirely up to Wilfried Nancy.

"That decision is really for the new boss to decide," O'Neill stated. "He must be given full autonomy. Should he desire my input on things, that's fine. If not, that is perfectly fine either. It's very much his squad the moment he steps into the job."

Presenter Jim White ended the interview if O'Neill if he would be emotional or sentimental when the full-time whistle sounded on Wednesday.

"Do you mean am I going to get tearful?" O'Neill replied. "Please don't be ridiculous."