Celtic dismiss Wilfried Nancy as O’Neill returns until end of season

Martin O’Neill is returning to Celtic as manager for the remainder of the season following the dismissal of Wilfried Nancy.

The 73-year-old stepped in for eight games in the wake of Brendan Rodgers’ exit in October, winning seven of those.

He made way for Nancy in early December but the Frenchman departed on Monday after a sorry run of just two wins from eight matches.

“I am really pleased, in fact, very honoured to be asked back to manage the team again and I am looking forward to getting back to work again with the players,” O’Neill told club media.

“I know we would all have hoped for things to have worked out differently under Wilfried and I personally want to wish him good luck with everything he does in the game. He is a fine man and I am sure he will go on and achieve success again, I have no doubt of that.

“For me, I’ve been asked to take this great job on again and my focus will be to try and get us back to winning ways if we can. We will need everyone right behind us.”

O’Neill, who won seven trophies with Celtic from 2000-05, will again be assisted by Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus.

Celtic, champions in 13 of the past 14 seasons, currently sit second in the Scottish Premiership, six points behind Hearts and ahead of Rangers on goals scored.

Under Nancy, they were beaten in the League Cup final by St Mirren, with O’Neill having overseen the semi-final win over Rangers.

“We still have a lot to look forward to and a lot to try and achieve, and myself, Shaun and the coaching staff and, of course, the players will be giving everything to achieve all the success we can for the club,” added O’Neill.

The former Leicester City, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Nottingham Forrest boss won all five league matches after replacing Rodgers, conceding one goal.

“By bringing Martin back to the club, we look forward with confidence, giving the team real focus for the challenges ahead,” said interim chairman Brian Wilson.

“He is a manager the players, staff and supporters know well, with a peerless reputation in football and a deep commitment to Celtic.

“The immediate priority is to get back to winning ways and while today’s events do not address every issue, I would appeal for unity within the stadium to create the best possible environment for the manager and team to launch the fight back.”

The day after Celtic’s League Cup final defeat, O’Neill said he would “happily have stayed on”, saying of his interim stint: “Thankfully, I don’t think I messed it up.”

The club’s principal shareholder, Dermot Desmond, who appointed O’Neill in the summer of 2000, added: “We know exactly what he will bring and we hope that he can do what he has done for us before, giving us that drive and direction as we move into the next part of the season.

“We all know about his proven track record with the club and hope he can bring us similar success going forward.

“When we appointed Wilfried to the role of manager, clearly we thought we could enjoy a successful period under his control. Unfortunately this did not work out in the way we would have liked, and while he and the club are disappointed with the recent period, I want to take this opportunity to wish him well in all he does going forward.”