Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Celtic’s clash with Dundee at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night will be his final game as the interim manager.
The experienced Northern Irish coach has revealed that Wilfried Nancy will take charge for the clash with Hearts at the weekend, ending his time in the dugout.
Speaking after the 2-1 win over Hibernian, O’Neill said: “He (Nancy) is the man that will be coming in. I thought it was over on Sunday, but there’s some paperwork still to be dealt with. Wednesday will definitely be my final game.
The interim boss has won six of his seven matches in his second spell with the Hoops, winning all four of his league games, and there have been several players who have been big winners from the change in manager.
The biggest winners from Martin O'Neill's time as interim Celtic manager
Callum Osmand, who is currently out with a hamstring injury, was one of the early winners from Brendan Rodgers’ departure, after he scored one goal in three games for O’Neill, having not played a single minute under the previous boss.
On the topic of strikers, Johnny Kenny was another winner of O’Neill’s tenure because the Ireland international scored four goals in the manager’s first four matches in charge, per Sofascore, which has shown that he can deliver quality at first-team level for the Hoops.
Reo Hatate has also improved under the interim boss. He has provided two goals and three assists in seven games for the Northern Irishman, per Sofascore, after a return of one goal and no assists in 13 games for Rodgers.
The biggest winner of O’Neill’s tenure, however, has been centre-back Auston Trusty, who has played every single minute of the seven games, having only made two appearances as a substitute in the league for the last manager this season.
Why Wilfried Nancy may drop Auston Trusty
Despite playing every single minute of the last seven Celtic games, the USA international is one of the players who could be on the chopping block when Nancy finally comes through the door.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Trusty has been playing as a right-sided centre-back because of the injury to Cameron Carter-Vickers, and the French tactician may want a naturally right-footed option in that position.
If Nancy wants that natural balance at the back, whether that is by signing a centre-back in January or giving a chance to another player in the squad, then Trusty could have to compete with Liam Scales for a starting berth as the left-sided centre-back.
Appearances
28
39
Clean sheets
13
22
Dribbled past
11x
8x
Error led to shot
5
2
Error led to goal
1
0
As you can see in the table above, the Ireland international has been the more reliable performer for the Scottish giants at the heart of the defence in the Premiership since the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
Trusty, who was hailed as a “powerful” player by Rodgers, made an error leading to a shot with a loose pass on Sunday, and that was his fifth in just 28 league games for the club.
He has also been dribbled past three more times than Scales, despite the Irishman playing 11 more games, which shows that opposition players find it easier to play against him than his fellow left-footed defender.
Trusty, to his credit, has been solid in his duels in the Premiership this season, winning 62% of his physical battles, per Sofascore, but his errors over the past 18 months or so and the fact that he is currently a left-footer playing on the right may come into consideration ahead of the January transfer window.
Nancy may want to bring in a naturally right-footed player to start games in that role, leaving Trusty and Scales to compete for one place. That is why he may end up dropping the American, who has been the biggest winner from O’Neill’s tenure, once he has a right-footed defender available to select.
His performances at Premiership level since his £6m move from Sheffield United suggest that Scales would be the better option for the new boss at left-centre-back, but we will have to wait and see how it plays out in reality.
Celtic flop who was "really shaky" v Hibs is the first player Nancy must bin
This Celtic flop is the first player who should be sold by incoming manager Wilfried Nancy in January.
ByDan Emery