DAILY MAIL 🔵 Celtic fans have fallen madly in love with Martin O’Neill again … now he’s proving too tough an act for Wilfried Nancy to follow

When Celtic beat Rangers last month to book their place in the Premier Sports Cup final, Martin O’Neill was asked to reflect on a chaotic few days after stepping in as interim boss.

‘I was 73 when I arrived on Monday, I’m 94 now’ he quipped, just moments after guiding the Parkhead side to a dramatic extra-time victory over their Old Firm rivals at Hampden.

For the last five weeks or so, it was hard not to feel like O’Neill could live to see 100 before Celtic finally got round to appointing a new manager.

At long last, however, the saga is coming to an end. After more farewell tours than the Rolling Stones, Wednesday night’s home clash with Dundee will be O’Neill’s final goodbye.

Wilfried Nancy is expected to take the reins upon completion of the necessary paperwork and will become long-term successor to Brendan Rodgers.

The plan is for the 48-year-old Frenchman to be in the dugout by the time Celtic take on title rivals Hearts on Sunday afternoon.

But there’s also a slight issue with all of this. Celtic are now in a very different place than they were when Rodgers left the club in late October.

O’Neill has reeled off six wins in seven games across all competitions. He has taken Celtic back to within striking distance of the Tynecastle side at the top of the league.

He has led the club to their best European result in years after winning 3-1 against Feyenoord in Rotterdam last week.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, he was named Scottish Premiership Glen’s Manager of the Month for November. 

Like an old flame coming back on the scene after many years apart, fans have fallen in love once again. They sing O’Neill’s name relentlessly. There is a clamour for him to stay.

Having revitalised the club and breathed new life into their season, could he not at least take the job until the end of the season?

It’s a perfectly plausible point of view. Whether or not O’Neill would actually have the energy for it may be a different question, but he appears to be as sprightly a 73-year-old as you could meet.

The unintended consequence of his spell as caretaker is that it has shortened the honeymoon period for the incoming Nancy.

If the new manager comes in and loses, say, two of his first three games in charge, you can guarantee fans will be incensed at the decision to let O’Neill go.

This is part of the problem that Celtic created for themselves. By bringing back a bona fide club legend, while taking an eternity to hire a new manager, there was always the possibility that fans would grow attached to O’Neill.

All the more so when he started winning games left, right and centre. Suddenly, he has become a very hard act to follow.

And especially with Celtic now entering the biggest week of their season so far. After the top-of-the-table clash with Hearts, they host Roma in the Europa League.

Just a few days later, they take on St Mirren at Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup Final.

That’s three huge games – and Nancy will be thrown in head-first.

It all boils down to a very simple question. Who would Celtic fans rather have in charge heading into this potentially seismic period: a club legend who knows how to get results, or an untested rookie in Nancy?

A poor start for Nancy would only serve to put him under early pressure.

The flipside, of course, would be the boost he’d receive if he reels off a couple of big wins early doors. But there’s no guarantee.

Celtic have handled this recruitment process so poorly. Surely it could have all been done weeks ago. Nancy’s season with Columbus Crew finished on November 8.

It’s taken the best part of a month to get the deal over the line. It doesn’t take a month to sort out work permits for him and his staff.

Celtic’s dithering approach now means the new manager will be thrown in at the deep end and asked to get instant results.

Given how badly Rangers botched their own recruitment process to replace Russell Martin, it’s hard to recall a time when both Old Firm clubs were so badly run off the field.

A few years ago, we had Brendan Rodgers and Steven Gerrard in charge. Now we have Wilfried Nancy and Danny Rohl.

Never have these two jobs been so unattractive to prospective managers.

But Nancy will be asked to continue the revival Celtic have enjoyed since O’Neill answered an SOS call from Dermot Desmond.

A gamble? Yeah, and then some. For all that the Frenchman won the MLS title with Columbus Crew a couple of years ago, they also finished seventh in the season just past and were knocked out in the first round of the play-offs.

There aren’t many managers whose success in the MLS has translated to Europe, especially in the cut and thrust of British football. It’s a whole different ball game.

Nancy is the man in whom Celtic have placed their trust. Will he be the answer to their problems? Only time will tell.

O’Neill has already proven himself capable of finding solutions. Sometimes, the answer is starting you square in the face.