Martin O’Neill has returned to Celtic and will take over as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
The 73-year-old returned to the role following Wilfried Nancy’s sacking earlier on Monday.
O’Neill won seven of the eight games between the sacking of manager Brendan Rodgers and Nancy’s appointment.
Celtic play Dundee United at home on Saturday. They are currently six points behind league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.
In a statement, O’Neill told supporters there was still “much to look forward to” this season.
“I’m really happy, in fact, very honored, to be back as manager of the team and I’m looking forward to getting back to work with the players.
“I know everyone wants things to go in a different direction under Wilfried and personally I wish him the best of luck in everything he does in the game. He’s a great guy and I’m sure he’ll continue and be successful again. I don’t believe in that.”
“For me, I have been asked to take up this great job once again and my focus will be on trying to get back to winning ways as much as possible. We will need everyone behind us.”
“We still have a lot to look forward to and achieve. Me, Sean, the coaching staff and of course the players will do everything we can to achieve as much success as possible for the club.”
As with last year, he will be assisted by Sean Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
Stephen McManus will join existing coaches Gavin Strachan, Stevie Woods and Greg Wallace in overseeing first-team affairs.
Celtic move quickly to bring O’Neill back after Nancy sacked
Nancy was sacked by Celtic after just 33 days in charge.
The Frenchman suffered six losses in eight matches. His last game was a 3-1 loss at home to Rangers on Saturday.
A statement from the club read: “Celtic Football Club would like to announce that we have decided to terminate the contract of manager Wilfried Nancy with immediate effect.
“The club would like to thank Wilfried for his efforts and wish him and his family all the best for the future.
“Wilfried’s assistants Kwame Ampadu, Jules Gueghen and Maxime Charrier will also be leaving the club and will continue our goodwill.
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Watch highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers.
“The club can also confirm that Paul Tisdale has resigned from his role as Director of Football Operations. We thank Paul for the contribution he has made in that role.”
“Further updates will be provided to supporters as soon as practical.”
Nancy’s Nightmare
Nancy missed two chances to take Celtic level with Premiership leaders Hearts.
Nancy, 48, signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the Scottish champions from Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew last month.
Celtic had won seven out of eight games under interim manager O’Neill, but their form declined dramatically under Nancy.
Nancy became the first Hoops manager to lose his first two games in charge after losing 3-1 to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final and losing 2-1 away to Dundee United.
It was the first time the club had lost four games in a row since 1978, when legendary manager Jock Stein was in charge.
They won consecutive league games against Aberdeen and Livingston, but lost to Motherwell at Fir Park and collapsed in the second half against Rangers.
“It’s the right decision, but the problem runs much deeper than Nancy.”
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Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton believes Wilfried Nancy’s departure from the club was “inevitable” following the defeat to Old Firm rivals Rangers, but added that the club’s problems run much deeper than that.
Chris Sutton of Sky Sports:
“It’s a bit like the situation with Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, but for a shorter period of time.
“He changed Celtic’s style, moving to a 3-4-3 and insisting on playing a certain way. He just wasn’t adaptable and it was Nancy’s kamikaze that led to Celtic losing six and scoring as many goals.”
“You want to give the manager time, but I think Celtic have taken a bold move because they need to win the league title.
“The players have to take some of the responsibility. It wasn’t just under coach Nancy that we were bad, we had problems at the beginning of the season.
Paul Tisdale has been appointed as Celtic’s director of football operations in October 2024.
“Brendan Rodgers wanted to bring more quality to the club, but that didn’t happen. It ended on a sour note. Things brightened up a bit under Martin O’Neill. He did a great job, but the team wasn’t playing particularly well. Nancy came in and tore everything apart, but the problems run much deeper than Nancy.”
“No one knows what Paul Tisdale was doing in the club, Dr. Dolittle.
“He had a big say in bringing Nancy on board, but even if he was involved in reinforcements over the summer, it wasn’t enough.
“It’s the right decision for him to part ways. Celtic are under pressure now because this team urgently needs to strengthen in January.
Should Celtic have learned from Martin’s spell at Rangers?
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Ahead of the Old Firm match, Wilfried Nancy passionately defended his starting spot against Parkhead for seven minutes and sent a message to his critics after losing five of seven games.
Alison Conroy of Sky Sports:
The Rangers took a risk when they drafted Russell Martin in the summer. Although he was not the fan’s choice, Rangers executives praised the way he built the team and the style of football he wanted to play.
The problem was that his supporters denounced him almost immediately.
His football philosophy may have looked good on paper, but there were players on his team who were unable to realize his plans.
Martin lasted 123 days.
Nancy’s tenure was even shorter. Is it fair to say Celtic should have learned something from their Old Firm rivals?
Did Celtic make the same mistake as Rangers?
The Frenchman’s philosophy and style convinced the board that he was the right man to replace Brendan Rodgers, although not all fans were convinced.
Questions arose as to whether the players could execute his style of football. Sound familiar?
Another thing I miss was the post-match interview.
After the draw with Dundee, Martin told Sky Sports: “It’s a great learning experience for the players. It’s a completely different challenge for them today and a better challenge for us moving forward.”
Fast forward to Celtic’s defeat to Rangers and Nancy claimed: “I’ve seen so many good things. So it’s frustrating because we deserve better and we have to come together and everything will move forward.”
At Celtic and Rangers, fans want wins.
Martin found it the hard way. Celtic appear to have learned little from their time at Ibrox, but Nancy’s ending could not have been better.
Celtic’s upcoming fixtures
Dundee United (H) – Scottish Premiership – January 10 Falkirk (A) – Scottish Premiership – January 14 Auchinleck Talbot (A) – Scottish Cup – January 18 Bologna (A) – Europa League – January 22 Hearts (A) – Scottish Premiership – January 25 Live on Sky Sports
