Martin O’Neill will continue as Celtic manager next season after agreeing terms on a new contract.
O’Neill is poised to sign a one-year deal, with the option of a further year, after guiding Celtic to a double last season.
The 74-year-old had flown to the rescue not once but twice after the departures of Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy.
He led Celtic to the league title in dramatic fashion after beating long-term leaders Hearts on the final day.
The veteran boss then followed that by beating Dunfermline at Hampden the following week to lift the Scottish Cup.
Keen to have another crack at it over a full season, O’Neill met Celtic’s major shareholder Dermot Desmond this week for talks about an extension.
Martin O’Neill will return to Celtic and bid to improve on the double trophy haul from last season
Robbie Keane had been in the frame but Celtic risked a major backlash among fans had they appointed the former Republic of Ireland striker.
Many supporters were angered at the interest in Keane given his previous spell in charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.
O’Neill was always the more popular choice among the fanbase and the club icon will now take charge of Celtic for at least another season.
The veteran boss initially answered an SOS call from Desmond back in October after the shock departure of Rodgers. He then handed the reins over to Nancy, but was called back once again after the Frenchman’s disastrous tenure was ended after barely a month in charge.
Across his two spells last season, O’Neill managed 35 games in all competitions, winning 27 and drawing four.
His points average of 2.56 per game in the league matched his corresponding figure from his first spell at Parkhead between 2000-05.
Robbie Keane had held talks with Celtic’s major shareholder Dermot Desmond
As Premiership winners, Celtic will enter the Champions League in the play-off round, the stage they lost at last term.
That resulted in a Europa League berth in the league phase, with O’Neill managing four of those games and the knockout defeat by Stuttgart.
The former Leicester, Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland boss had also managed Celtic in their November League Cup semi-final win against Rangers at Hampden, with Nancy in charge at the national stadium for the 3-1 final defeat by St Mirren the following month.
Rangers were also knocked out of the Scottish Cup by O’Neill’s Celtic at the quarter-final stage in March.
