Here's who Celtic will appoint if Wilfried Nancy leaves

Cameron Smith

• 22 Dec 2025 03:15 CST
• 3 min read

Nieuws

Celtic will reportedly re-appoint Martin O’Neill as their new interim head coach if they decide to sack Wilfried Nancy.

The Frenchman has endured a torrid start to life in the Celtic Park dugout, losing his first four matches in charge before finally securing victory against Aberdeen on Sunday afternoon.

It wasn’t all plain sailing though as Celtic required two late goals from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest to claim all three points after 10-man Aberdeen had equalised in the 74th minute through Kenan Bilalovic.

Nancy remains under severe pressure in Glasgow and reports suggest that he could still be sacked if results and performances don’t improve soon.

In fact, Football Insider claim that Celtic are planning to bring the aforementioned O’Neill back to the club until the end of the 2025-26 campaign if they sack Nancy.

O’Neill enjoyed a successful interim spell with the Scottish giants following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers in October - winning seven of his eight games in charge - before making way after the club hired Nancy on a permanent deal.

However, he has been linked with a move back to the club ever since his departure, amid Celtic’s poor form under Nancy, and it appears as though a return could be on the cards if the Frenchman is unable to close the gap to Scottish Premiership league leaders Hearts.

Wilfried Nancy sack statement

Reports that O’Neill could return to Celtic come after the club’s CEO Michael Nicholson was forced to make a statement regarding Nancy’s future in Glasgow.

“We are absolutely solid behind Wilfried Nancy,” Nicholson said.

“We know where we want to go and our job is to support Nancy to take us where we want to get to.

“I met with him this week to discuss recruitment in January, and also looking ahead to the summer transfer window.

“We have a project to support here, and we are excited about where we are going to get to. But it’s going to take time. It is still just two weeks since Wilfried Nancy’s appointment.”

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