GOOD WIL HUNTING

Nancy may well be in door later this week but Celts' pursuit of him has turned into an inexplicable and rather mysterious saga

- KEITH JACKSON

HE'S getting too damn old for this constant hokey-cokey routine he's being asked to perform these days.

And if truth be told, he deserves to be treated with a whole lot more respect than to be out one minute and in the next while Celtic contrive to turn the appointment of Wilfried Nancy into an inexplicable and rather mysterious saga.

But, at the age of 73, Martin O’Neill will continue to earnestly hold the fort for as long as it takes until such times as his permanent replacement has been secured.

He certainly looked a bit surprised about it before kickoff at Easter Road yesterday when he revealed that he’s already been primed to stay in charge of the team for Wednesday night’s visit from Dundee.

That wasn’t in the script, given that the word from inside Celtic Park last week suggested strongly that Nancy might even be watching on from a seat in the stand in Leith before slipping into the hotseat that O’Neill has been keeping warm on his behalf.

And that does began obvious question. Is someone involved in the process getting cold feet at the prospect of putting pen to paper on this deal and concluding the missives?

That may sound like a stretch of the imagination given how public the advanced the pursuit of the Frenchman has become.

Then again, the topsy-turvy nature of the way this season has played out up until this point means that nothing can be ruled in or out until it’s been officially presented as a fait accompli.

In all probability, the reason behind the ongoing delay will lie somewhere in the paperwork or the negotiations around how much compensation cash Celtic are willing to part with in order to satisfy the demands of Columbus Crew.

But, even so, something about these protracted discussions is failing the smell test.

Quite simply, it shouldn’t need to take this long to get the details in order and legally nailed down.