PA MediaMartin O’Neill joked that he had hidden impending new Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy’s paperwork after being asked to extend his fruitful spell in interim charge for another game.
The 73-year-old thought Sunday’s William Hill Premiership trip to Hibernian – which brought a 2-1 win for the resurgent Hoops – would signal the end of his Parkhead caretaker stint.
But O’Neill revealed before the match that he had been asked on Saturday to stay on for Wednesday’s visit of Dundee. Frenchman Nancy was due to be named as the Hoops’ new permanent manager on Monday, but the caretaker confirmed there has been a red-tape hold-up with the appointment.
“It’s a wee bit strange, to be honest,” smiled O’Neill after the hard-fought victory at Easter Road that lifted the Hoops within two points of leaders Hearts with a game in hand.
“I was joking that whatever has happened to the paperwork, I have no idea – maybe I’m hiding it!
“I only found out on Saturday, I genuinely thought this would be my last game.”
Asked if Wednesday’s match would definitely be his last in charge, O’Neill said: “Yeah. In my mind, absolutely. But in my mind at 8am yesterday morning, it was in my mind that this was my last game.”
If all goes to plan, Nancy’s first three games in charge will now be a top-of-the-table showdown with Hearts next Sunday, followed by a home Europa League match against Roma and then a Premier Sports Cup final showdown with St Mirren.
“Those are games to look forward to, I must admit,” O’Neill said. “I’ve not spoken to the man, but I’m quite sure he would want to get in here as soon as possible, to get going, and at least on the back of good results, and the team now starting to play with confidence.”
O’Neill’s side made it four Premiership wins in a row since he took the reins from Brendan Rodgers five weeks ago after first-half goals from Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels within a minute of each other.
Hibs hit back with a Martin Boyle penalty after the break and the Hoops had to stand firm to close out victory.
Hibees boss David Gray refused to blame goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger for passing to Miguel Chaiwa while he was under pressure from Reo Hatate in the build-up to Maeda’s 27th-minute opener.
“It was a gift, but it’s not through them doing something that they’re not being asked to do,” he said. “I take responsibility for that as well because of how we play.
“The frustration probably comes from then giving Celtic a two-goal start, after a real positive start, in my opinion.
“Then in the second half I thought we got a good reaction. Once we got the goal, there was only one team going to go and score the next one, I felt.
“We definitely deserved to get something out of the game, apart from a two-minute period within the game.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
