“A wee bit strange”: Celtic confirm managerial appointment just hours after Wilfried Nancy sacking

Celtic have announced that Martin O’Neill will return to the club as manager until the end of the season, following the dismissal of Wilfried Nancy.

The Scottish giants confirmed on Monday afternoon that Nancy has had his contract terminated with immediate effect following a miserable 33-day spell in charge at Parkhead - the shortest reign of any manager in the club’s history.

Nancy lost six of his eight matches in charge of the Hoops, including last weekend’s 3-1 defeat at home Old Firm rivals Rangers which leaves the club six points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts.

The Frenchman was appointed Celtic boss on December 4 after O’Neill had previously guided the Glaswegian side to seven wins in eight games, with the 73-year-old stepping in on an interim basis following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers.

Celtic have acted fast to bring O’Neill back to the club and he will be supported by Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham as assistants, as well as Stephen McManus, who will all join existing coaches Gavin Strachan, Stevie Woods and Greg Wallace to oversee first-team matters.

“I’m obviously very pleased and privileged to be back at the football club, but in circumstances like this, with Wilfried leaving the club, that just seems a wee bit strange at this moment,” O’Neill told Celtic TV.

O’Neill aiming to win Premiership title with Celtic after return confirmed

“We know we’re in a big fight. We’re going to try and win the league. It won’t be easy, although it never is, but we’re halfway through the season, we’ve got a big fight on our hands, so we have to be up to the challenge.”

O’Neill added: “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.

“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.”

Celtic’s Interim Chairman, Brian Wilson, said: "The way things worked out for Wilfried Nancy is an intense disappointment, not least from a purely human perspective. We wish him and his family well.

"By bringing Martin back to the club, we look forward with confidence, giving the team real focus for the challenges ahead. 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."

O’Neill tasked with giving Celtic the “drive and direction” to move forward

Celtic Chief Executive, Michael Nicholson, added: “We are very pleased to welcome Martin back to Celtic as manager until the end of the season and we will give him and the rest of our management team every support as we address the challenges we face during the second half of the season.

"Having spoken to Martin, I know he is excited again to be with us and very committed to doing everything he can, along with Shaun and the other coaches, to deliver the success we all know he can bring.

“Wilfried is someone who we will always respect, and while it is unfortunate that things did not work out, we certainly offer him our best wishes and hope that he can once again achieve success in his future roles.”

Celtic’s principal shareholder Dermot Desmond has also shared his thoughts on the decision to sack Nancy and re-appoint O’Neill adding: “I am pleased to welcome Martin back to Celtic. 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."

O’Neill will take charge of first-team training at Lennoxtown on Tuesday ahead of managing his first game back as Celtic boss on Saturday at home against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.