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Martin O'Neill insists Wilfried Nancy will inherit a Celtic side who have been reinvigorated on his watch once the Frenchman finally takes charge.
Nancy was expected to be unveiled prior to Wednesday’s home match with Dundee, but red tape means he won’t be confirmed as manager until later in the week.
The hold-up means O’Neill will be allowed to sign off at Celtic Park after an eight-match stint in interim charge.
Today's 2-1 win at Hibs - a fourth straight league victory for the 73-year-old - cut the gap on leaders Hearts to just two points, and O’Neill will pass the baton to the new man with Celtic in a far better place than when he stepped in a month ago.
Asked about the run of games Nancy will face at the start of his tenure, including a top-of-the-table clash with Hearts, a Europa League clash with Roma and a League Cup final with St Mirren, O’Neill said: ‘Those are games to look forward to, I must admit.
‘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.
Martin O'Neill waves to the fans after presiding over his fourth consecutive Premiership win
Daizen Maeda celebrates scoring the opening goal in a 2-1 win against Hibs at Easter Road
Hibs boss David Gray thought his team were unfortunate not to take something from the game
‘And (with) the team now starting to play with the confidence that has prevailed at this football club for some time.’
O’Neill, who has won six of his seven matches since returning, confirmed that the hold-up in appointing the Columbus Crew manager was purely bureaucratic, with everyone at the club anticipating it will be confirmed imminently.
Asked if there was part of him that wanted to stay in charge for longer, he added: 'In fairness to the new manager coming in, the board have made their decision on that and it’s only fair to him to get in and get his feet under the table and look at the side.
‘He has some really great games to look forward to coming up.
‘Nothing will be easy, of course, but it’s an exciting time.
‘He’ll take over a side that’s - brimming might be too strong a word - but certainly with loads of confidence about themselves.’
On the delay itself, O’Neill joked: ‘There’s some paperwork, isn’t there? I don’t know whether they can’t sign a little document. It would be nice if it lasted a bit longer, maybe till after the final. If they can’t find the papers to sign, that would be lovely. I’ve hidden them. I’ve hidden the papers.’
O’Neill came in after Celtic had fallen eight points behind Hearts. Now only two points behind and with a game in hand, he feels the picture is far brighter than when Brendan Rodgers left.
‘Well, yes, we have (closed the gap), and I am genuinely delighted with it,’ he added.
‘We got a lesson in Midtjylland, absolutely (a 3-1 defeat in the Europa League). And then we got a bit of pride back in the performance and the result in Feyenoord. That definitely gave us a boost today.’
O’Neill was delighted to see his players ease into a two-goal half-time lead through Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels, then dig deep for the win once Martin Boyle scored for Hibs via the penalty spot.
‘I knew we would get really tired in the last 20-odd minutes of the game,’ he said.
‘And then with Hibs scoring so soon after half-time, we were definitely on the back foot. But we saw it through and that’s what probably pleased me most today.
‘We played some great stuff in the first half and the second goal was like the way we played against Feyenoord, with some lovely moves as well.
‘A third goal before half time would have been great, with the one that hit the post.
‘Second half Hibs came roaring back, got the penalty and we were on the back foot.
‘But we dug it out - and that was the most important thing.’
Hibs boss David Gray felt his side were unfortunate not to take something from the match after a much-improved second-half display.
‘Once we got the goal, there was only one team going to go and score the next one, I felt,’ he said.
‘We definitely deserved to get something out of the game, apart from a two-minute period within the game.
‘In the first-half, I think we stripped Celtic to very little. We had big chances in the game and didn’t take them. So, the frustration is certainly there.’
