Martin O’Neill: I don’t know if I’ll still be in charge for Celtic’s next match | OneFootball

Martin O'Neill insists he has no idea whether he will remain at the helm for Celtic's next match against St Mirren amid reports that the Hoops have stepped up their search for a new permanent manager.

The 73-year-old has been in caretaker charge of the Scottish champions for the last four games since Brendan Rodgers resigned two and a half weeks ago.

It has been reported this week that the Celtic board have been interviewing candidates, with Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy emerging as the new bookmakers' favourite.

The Hoops have never stated publicly when they intend to have a new boss in place, and O'Neill - speaking to BBC Radio Ulster - was open-minded about his prospects of still being in charge for next Saturday evening's William Hill Premiership trip to St Mirren.

"The short and honest answer is I genuinely do not know," the Northern Irishman said in an interview conducted on Thursday and broadcast on Friday morning.

"I am not party to anything that is happening with the board talking to prospective clients and things like this, nor do I want to be because that's never been a remit of mine.

"The gentlemen involved can very easily make up their own minds about people without me interfering in any aspect. I said that I would do it until they found that replacement.

"And is that possible for next week? I genuinely do not know. My job was to come in and hold the fort, and the minute that someone is appointed, I will step aside.

"And if it was tomorrow, I would gladly step aside. It's not a problem. It's nothing to do with any sort of ego or anything like that. It's just to help out in the very, very short term."

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Martin O'Neill is ready to step aside when Celtic see fit (Action Images via Reuters)

In his four matches, O'Neill - assisted by Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham - has overseen two Premiership victories, a Europa League defeat by Midtjylland and an extra-time win over 10-man Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.

The final against St Mirren takes place on December 14 and there are some who would like to see the veteran remain in charge for the Hampden showdown in order to add to his trophy haul from his glittering first spell in charge in the early Noughties.

"That really doesn't matter," said O'Neill, dismissing any notion that sentimentality should come into play.

"I am a romantic and have been a romantic all my life. I know the history of football and all of those particular things but that doesn't bother me one jot."