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Celtic have hired Martin O’Neill as caretaker boss until the end of the season and could now be set to make their second signing of the January transfer window.

Celtic set to go 'all out' for January signings

Most Celtic fans will be breathing a sigh of relief after Wilfried Nancy’s unfateful tenure in Glasgow came to an end, with the moral of the story simply being that the Frenchman was the wrong fit despite possessing plenty of coaching talent.

Now with a more familiar face at the helm in O’Neill, the Irishman has made it clear that the Bhoys will go ‘all out’ to secure reinforcements in an attempt to win the Scottish Premiership title for a fifth time in succession.

He said after being appointed for the second time: “I think that we would have to supplement the squad in some capacity. We would have to do that if it’s at all possible. You only have this period of time.

“We all know that January transfer windows are difficult, difficult to get the players you probably want at the football club. But we do need to supplement it and we’re going all out to try and do that.”

Clearly, Celtic have fallen below their usual expectations this season and need reinforcements, hence why Jocelin Ta Bi and Ignacio Laquintana could be on their way to Parkhead after the arrival of Julian Araujo.

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Time is of the essence for the Bhoys if they want to wrestle top spot from Heart of Midlothian, and they could now be closing in on a statement deal amid recent developments.

Celtic hijack Wolves move for Niko Sigur

According to journalist Izak Ante Sucic on social media platform X, Celtic have beaten competition from Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign Hadjuk Split star Niko Sigur, who is capable of playing as a defensive midfielder or at right-back.

Due to Nancy’s dismissal, the deal has been on hold between all parties. Nevertheless, the Hoops are deemed to be ‘one step away’ from landing the Canadian international to bolster their ranks.

Scoring once and registering an assist in 22 appearances this season, the 24-year-old’s versatility will likely appeal to O’Neill, albeit it remains to be seen whether he is used in a wide or central role should the deal go through without any hitches.

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After a relatively quiet start to the window, Celtic now appear to be making moves, and supporters will be intrigued to see whether there is a flurry of activity to follow after swooping for Sigur.

Celtic have sacked Wilfried Nancy after eight games – and six defeats – in charge.

Head of football operations Paul Tisdale has also left his position in the wake of Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat by Rangers, while three of the club’s coaches will follow Nancy out the door.

Hoops announce five total departures

The club announced they had “decided to terminate the contract of manager Wilfried Nancy with immediate effect”.

A statement added: “The club thanks Wilfried for his efforts and wishes him and his family well for the future.

“Wilfried’s assistants, Kwame Ampadu, Jules Gueguen, and Maxime Chalier, will also be leaving the club and they take with them our good wishes.

“The club can also confirm that Paul Tisdale has left his position as head of football operations. We thank Paul for the contribution he has made in that role.”

Nancy had insisted his side weren’t far off after the defeat to Rangers: “It’s the results. Results. So this is the reality for the moment.

“But when I say this is the reality, it doesn’t mean that I am a defeatist guy. No. What I mean is we are really close, really, really close, to turn things around.”

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Posts ByTom Cunningham Ruthless from Desmond

Dermot Desmond has taken his fair share of criticism from Celtic fans and was frustrated when Peter Lawwell left the club in December, when blame was pointed towards the Parkhead faithful.

Celtic Chief Executive Michael Nicholson added they were “hugely disappointed” Lawwell was departing and “particularly in these circumstances”.

That said, it seems the leadership have – at last – admitted their own mistakes in opting for an inexperienced manager and cleaned house in ruthless fashion by firing both Nancy and his entire first-team cpaching staff.

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With just six points between Hearts, Celtic and Rangers at the top of the Premiership table, there is still plenty of time to turn the season around and continue the Bhoys’ domestic dominance if they can get the right man through the door in the coming weeks.

ScorecardJamie Overton produced an impressive opening spell•Getty Images

If you were to judge by the statistics, Jamie Overton shouldn’t enter into the thoughts of the England selectors. He went into this game averaging 37.19 for his first-class wickets, after all. Will Gidman, by comparison, has taken his first-class wickets at an average of 23.28.But who is more likely to win England an Ashes Test? And there are moments, just moments, when everything clicks together and Overton looks a terrific prospect. Blessed with height and pace, he also has the ability to gain movement. Put that together and you have a bowler who can overcome flat surfaces and good line-ups; the sort of bowler who might have been made for Australian surfaces.He enjoyed such a moment on the first day of this Championship match at Taunton. His five-over spell accounted for both Warwickshire openers and contained a number of all but unplayable deliveries that pitched on off and straightened to beat the bat of Jonathan Trott.While it’s true that Warwickshire’s openers – Ian Westwood and Andy Umeed – are not quite up the standard of those England will face in Australia, the balls that dismissed them were reward for fine bowling. Westwood, hit on the body earlier in the over as he attempted to pull one that was on him quicker than he anticipated, played on as he attempted to force one on off stump that may have bounced a little more than he expected, before Umeed was yorked – and perhaps beaten for pace – by one that may have left the batsman just a little in the air.The only boundaries he conceded – two of them – came off the edge of the bat: the first when Trott played one down and past the slips and the second when Ian Bell cut over the cordon. While there were still a couple of leg stump deliveries that, another day, might have been punished, it was a spell – albeit a relatively short one – that hinted at improving consistency.Somerset would, no doubt, have wanted Overton to bowl a bit more at Trott and Bell when they came to the crease. But a five-over spell is probably plenty for a bowler of such pace and, in a side containing only three seamers (and Peter Trego has yet to take a Championship wicket this season), they wouldn’t have wanted to exhaust him too early in the game.His brother, Craig, soon accounted for Bell, anyway. A demanding spell, not as quick as Jamie but perhaps more consistent, brought an attempted back-foot force that flew high to second slip where Marcus Trescothick plucked down a sharp catch.But it was, not for the first time, Jamie who had caught the eye. And, with James Anderson injured again – and those injuries are starting to come with ominous frequency – Overton’s performance will not have gone unnoticed by the selectors.He impressed Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, last year. Bayliss was at Edgbaston last May when Overton utilised a slightly uneven surface – it was rated poor by the umpires – to such an extent that there was talk of the match being abandoned for a while.Presented by an England bowler offering the skills that Australia have in abundance – pace, height and aggression – Bayliss was said to be much taken with what he saw and, had Overton not suffered a stress fracture, he might have pushed for further recognition already. These are early days and slim pickings on which to judge – rain washed out most of the first day here – but Jamie Overton’s attributes are not common and he certainly has the potential to go a long way in the game.”That has to be one of the best spells that I have bowled since I came back from injury,” Overton said afterwards. “I want to bowl in short, sharp spells and as long as I don’t go for 10 an over, I’m pretty happy. Today I think I went for less than four an over so I was pleased with that.”I’ve worked hard on my control and today I think I made the batsmen have to play me. I’m using my bouncer sensibly now – and batsmen now know that I have got one to bowl – so it’s a very handy weapon to have.”While Somerset will have been delighted with his performance, they might have been a little concerned at the lack of spin. Despite playing this match on a surface used in a couple of limited-overs games, there was little if any assistance for Jack Leach (who was presented his count cap by former Somerset and England spinner Vic Marks during the day) and Dominic Bess. Bess dismissed Bell and Trott in successive deliveries on Championship debut last year but here was taken for three boundaries – two cover drives and a pull – from Trott as he struggled to find the appropriate length.It’s an important game for both sides. Currently at the foot of the table – Somerset have played one game fewer – it may well prove to have a bearing on the relegation situation at the end of the season. Warwickshire, anticipating a spinning surface, awarded a Championship debut to left-arm spinner Sunny Singh and a first-class debut to seamer Grant Thornton, who is only on a three-month contract with the club but who impressed in white ball cricket. Chris Wright is recovering from injury.Sam Hain and Umeed were also recalled with William Porterfield on international duty and Ateeq Javid dropped. Warwickshire also announced they have signed a 17-year-old seamer, Henry Brookes, on a three-season deal.While nobody could argue with the early decision to abandon play – there has been torrential rain and hail in Taunton – there was an odd disruption earlier in the day. It transpires that there is an ECB directive that strongly advises umpires to ensure the playing area is vacated by everyone – including the groundstaff – should there be any thunder and lightning in the vicinity.So, despite sunshine, play was delayed in early afternoon as the directive suggests that, once the gap between thunder and lightning becomes more frequent than 40 seconds, the playing surface should be cleared for a minimum of 30 minutes. The fact that the stands at Taunton were well populated by bemused spectators who are, presumably, equally at risk of lightning strikes, appears to have escaped the attention of which ever official came up with the guidelines.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Guyana captain, is likely to miss out his team’s KFC Cup semi-final match against Jamaica on October 25 after he injured his ankle and is expected to be out of action for six weeks.Sarwan had pulled out of Guyana’s previous match against Trinidad and Trinidad on October 20 after he was injured during training. Expressing his disappointment over possibly missing the semi-final, Sarwan told the , “I trained very hard for this tournament after being out for a while with the shoulder injury and I was hoping to make a big contribution towards Guyana retaining the title.”Earlier this year, Sarwan missed most of West Indies’ tour of England – his first series as the national captain – when he injured his shoulder during the second Test at Headingley. “In a game like cricket you expect to pick up an injury here and there but today [Saturday] I was not even playing a match … just warming up with some touch rugby which I guess is just bad luck for me.”I am now hoping for some good news from the doctor regarding how soon I can resume training for the Zimbabwe and South Africa tours at year end.”

Cricket Kenya has named a 14-man squad for the Intercontinental Cup tie against Bermuda which starts this Sunday at the Nairobi Gymkhana.The main surprise is the recall of 33-year-old Lameck Onyango who has been sidelined by a knee injury. His international record hardly warrants another chance – in five ODIs he has made 30 runs and taken one wicket, and his last appearance was four years ago when he batted at No. 11 and was not asked to bowl.Morris Ouma and David Obuya are likely to open the innings in place of Kennedy Otieno, who is playing club cricket in Australia.There is a youthful look to the side, however. Tanmay Mishra, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Maurice Ouma and Hiren Varaiya will return from South Africa, where they have been attending a four-week Winter Training Camp in Durban, in time for the match.Nairobi has been hit by heavy storms and flooding all week, but the groundsman at the Gymkhana said the match was not in doubt. “It’s been very dry underground and that is why the outfield is still dry. I will only be worried if there is heavy rain for five days. As for the square, we have enough covers to protect it.”

Allan Donald: back in the fray for South Africa © Getty Images

It has been one of the poorer aspects of South African cricket that for sometime they have been getting nothing out of their legendary former fastbowler Allan Donald. All that is set to change, however, following his appointment on Sunday as a specialist coach for the high performance programme, alongsidethe record-breaking batsman and former team-mate, Gary Kirsten.Donald, who was South Africa’s highest wicket-taker with 330 in 72 Tests,has been auctioning his considerable expertise mostly in England with hisformer county, Warwickshire. But now he will be ploughing his considerableexperience back into South African cricket.”It’s not nice working in another country, especially with the talent wehave here,” Donald said during the first one-day international between SouthAfrica and New Zealand in Bloemfontein on Sunday.According to Vintcent van der Bijl, the former Natal, Transvaal andMiddlesex bowling hero who is now Cricket South Africa’s general manager ofprofessional cricket, Donald’s role will be “coaching our young aspirants toensure they are Test-ready”.”I’ll be placing an unbelievable emphasis on intensity,” Donald said. “The intensity needsto be lifted in our franchises by some notches. It’s not true that our conveyor belt of fast bowlers has stopped. We have a list of 15 potential guys who I will be working really hard with. Especially fringe guys like Dale Steyn and Monde Zondeki, they can come up a notch or two.””We now have a balance between a batting and bowling focus in the highperformance programme and it’s great to have people who have just come outof the game,” Van der Bijl said. “We are delighted that one of the trulygreat fast bowlers, with all his expertise and, most importantly, Testexperience, is joining Gary Kirsten, who has an equally impressiveinternational pedigree. Allan is a master at his trade.”

15 overs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Inzamam-ul-Haq: won the toss and batted again … and the same result so far© Getty Images

The more things change, the more things stay the same so far as Pakistan are concerned. For all the talk of a brave new era under Bob Woolmer’s stewardship, their essential unpredictability is never far from the surface. And so it proved in the opening exchanges of the first one-day international against Zimbabwe at Harare, as Tinashe Panyangara and Doug Hondo obliterated Pakistan’s top-order inside the first 15 overs.The last time Panyangara took the new ball at the start of a series, against England at Edgbaston in the recent Champions Trophy, he very nearly failed to get his first over, which included seven wides. Today, on the other hand, he was right on the spot from the very first delivery, which Yasir Hameed edged straight through to Tatenda Taibu behind the stumps (0 for 1).Hondo didn’t make quite such an instant impact – he required all of four deliveries of his first over to make his first incision, as Shoaib Malik attempted to whip across the line and was adjudged lbw by an inducker for 1. And when Yousuf Youhana, who amassed 405 runs in five matches (average: 405) on Pakistan’s previous trip to Zimbabwe, feathered a good-length ball through to Taibu, Hondo had struck for the second time in two overs to reduce Pakistan to 6 for 3.At least Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had been a doubt because of a back injury, could not be blamed this time for choosing to bat first on winning the toss. But, together with the debutant, Bazid Khan (son of Majid) he faced a delicate rebuilding process. He nearly perished in the process as well, as Taibu dropped a leg-side chance while Inzamam was on 7, but Taibu made no such mistake when Panyangara sent down a wide one, for Bazid to chase and edge for 12.

The second day of the first Test between Australia and Bangladesh was significant for the centuries by Steve Waugh and Darren Lehmann, and Bangladesh’s spirited display in the field and with the bat. Here’s what Waugh, Lehmann and Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, had to say after the day’s play. Steve Waugh
On becoming only the second batsman to score a hundred against all nine Test-playing nations “If you play long enough you are going to reach milestones and records are going to be passed and I’m sure someone down the track will beat those. But it is nice to achieve things and to score a hundred against every country is something I’m proud of. I’m not too concerned about records. I just want to go out there and play well and I’ve said if I don’t think I can improve then I shouldn’t be there.”On the difficult days last season when there were calls for him to retire “It is nice to overcome those tough times. Every cricketer has them in their career and it’s probably a bit harder as you get older – but I’m just happy with the way I’m playing. I’m enjoying the game and being positive.”Darren Lehmann
On conditions in the middle “It was hard work out there. They stuck to their guns pretty well, they put it in the right areas and made it tough to score runs. To be the first one to score 100 here – it was a good day.”Dav Whatmore
On his bowlers “The bowlers did a pretty good job. I felt that against other sides there was enough good balls and sustained effort to perhaps bowl another opposition out. But we are playing against Australia, the number-one ranked team, and we’ve seen what they are capable of today, even though they had to sustain some fairly good pressure in terms of the way our guys bowled at them.”On what the batsmen need to do on the third day “It’s only just the start, really. It’s a long day tomorrow and we’ll be tested greatly when we have to bat the day out. This really isn’t about winning or losing for us, this is all about being able to improve.”After yesterday’s performance we are really behind the eight-ball, youcan’t win a game in a session, but you can sure go a long way to losing it and that opening session when we were six for 60-odd, it’s very difficult to come back from that.”But we have a really good opportunity to work on one or two things asbatsmen and get out there and really compete. We’ve just started, it’s 15 overs and it’s nice to see the 70 runs, but there’s a lot of hard work ahead of us.”

HARARE, Oct 1: England cruised to a 138-run win over Zimbabwe ‘A’ intheir opening tour match at the Alexandra Sports Club Monday, thankslargely to an innings of 95 by Graham Thorpe.The Surrey left-hander, who only joined the tour as a late replacementfor the injured Craig White, was in excellent form. His runs came off120 balls and included eight boundaries and some quick running, whichshifted the momentum away from the hosts.England captain Nasser Hussain won the toss and elected to bat, adecision vindicated when his side scored 262 for eight in theirallotted 50 overs. Zimbabwe ‘A’ could only muster 124 runs in reply.While the result appeared convincing, England were reeling at 61 forfive after 16 overs in the morning. But a 158-run sixth-wicket standbetween Thorpe and Ben Hollioake enabled the tourists to compile atotal that was always going to be out of reach for the hosts.The two rotated the strike well, never allowing the Zimbabwean bowlersto drive their advantage home in a stand occupying 29 overs. Hollioakescored a valuable 61, which came off 77 balls and,uncharacteristically, only included two fours. His innings came to anend when he mistimed a pull off right-arm seamer Sean Ervine and wascaught at mid-wicket by Douglas Hondo.Thorpe perished at a time when he was increasing the pace of theEngland innings. He was caught in the deep by Stuey Matsikenyire offErvine, but by then he had done enough ensure his side were well setfor victory.Earlier, England lost opener Marcus Trescothick in the first over,bowled for four by right-arm medium Pommie Mbangwa.Nick Knight scored 22 and Hussain 16 in a 39-run second wicketpartnership. Their wickets were followed quickly by those of MarkRamprakash (2) and Andrew Flintoff (1).Later, debutant Jeremy Snape added a rapid unbeaten 27 from 19 balls,which included two fours and a six, as England scored 82 runs in thefinal 10 overs.Ervine was the best of the home side’s bowlers, taking three for 53 inhis 10 overs.Zimbabwe ‘A’ never maintained the required 5.26 run rate in theirchase, losing wickets at regular intervals.Only captain Gavin Rennie (28) and Barney Rogers (30) offered anyresistance, but even their contributions were meagre.Snape made an impressive debut with the ball as well, taking two ineight overs.England play Zimbabwe in the first of five One-day Internationals atthe Harare Sports Club Wednesday, going into the series on the back of11 consecutive defeats in One-day Internationals.

ScorecardChris Jordan impressed in front of the England national selector James Whitaker•Getty Images

According to England’s cricketing professionals, there are few things more exhausting than a county cricket season – although the pursuit of perfection deserves to be in there somewhere. Approaching the end of a season which a PCA survey has condemned as excessive, it is a fortunate county who can point to a fast bowler awash with vigour.Perhaps Sussex are that county. Chris Jordan’s return from a prolonged absence with a side injury could not take them to Finals Day in the NatWest Blast – a century from David Willey saw to that – but it could work wonders in their attempts to sidestep relegation from Division One of the Championship.Jordan returned 5 for 57 in three spells, the last of them – Ben Cox shouldering arms to a delivery which came back to bowl him – greeted with a swivel and punch of the air in triumph. Steve Magoffin carried over a tray of drinks and handed him one. When Magoffin, who labours as long and hard as any seamer in the country, carries your drinks, you are having a good day.James Whitaker, the national selector, was in situ to watch it, although the dry, moribund pitches of the UAE do not make Jordan a natural pick for the forthcoming Test series against Pakistan: Chris Woakes, if he removes his own fitness concerns, is one fast-bowling allrounder who is probably ahead of him.That Sussex are concerned by relegation at all owes much to injuries that have bedevilled their pace attack all season, but the table insists they are. Hampshire, bottom, are stirring and have a game in hand over Worcestershire, who began four points behind Sussex and a further nine behind Somerset. This match could have a major bearing – and when Sussex’s captain Ed Joyce pulled out an hour before the start with a back injury it would have been easy to become distracted.Instead, Sussex pushed all that aside. “We are not looking at external factors, just how we can study the opposition and impose ourselves on the opposition,” Jordan said. “That was a focus from ball one. I thought we start the tone from the start.”It would not do for Sussex to be too optimistic just yet. They have to bat last on a New Road pitch which has been used twice before and was described by one player as resembling carpet tiles. Worcestershire batted on it in the belief that it can only get worse, although if we keep getting sudden downpours of the one that ended play soon after tea it might bind the surface together and ensure it remains a slow, low seamer.Jordan’s languid approach does not immediately communicate menace, but he was on the money from the start. Daryl Mitchell perished in the slips – a knock-up from Mike Yardy to Chris Nash. When Tom Fell bisected Yardy and Luke Wright at slip Jordan was aggravated enough to rasp his next delivery through Fell’s defences.Worcestershire’s only main resistance came in a third-wicket stand of 80 in 32 overs between Joe Clarke, already tipped by the former England captain Michael Vaughan as a future England player, and Brett D’Oliveira, installed as opener for the closing stages of the season in preference to Richard Oliver. Their departure – Clarke bowled by Jordan on the drive, D’Oliveira gloving a pull against Magoffin – began to a sequence of five wickets for 24 in 43 balls.Remove Jordan from the attack and it became a different game. Worcestershire recovered somewhat against the support bowlers, but lost Jack Shantry at slip and Saeed Ajmal to a lavish slog sweep to leave the majority of a decent crowd nervous about their team’s safety.