The win moved the reigning champions to just two points behind the Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts, with one game still to play.

Before the match, O'Neill confirmed his caretaker role with the Glasgow club would continue a bit longer, as the 73-year-old is expected to manage Wednesday's home game against Dundee while Celtic finalize the paperwork for Wilfried Nancy’s appointment as their permanent manager.

Goals from Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels secured Celtic's sixth victory in seven games under O'Neill, who previously had great success managing the Hoops from 2000 to 2005.

A poor pass from goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger allowed Reo Hatate to easily intercept near the Hibs box. He passed to Maeda, who calmly rolled the ball into an empty goal in the 27th minute.

Less than a minute later, Celtic extended their lead at Easter Road when Engels courageously headed in Hyun-Jun Yang's cross despite taking a kick to the face.

Rangers held

Celtic nearly sealed the game when Japanese forward Maeda back-heeled the ball to the advancing Marcelo Saracchi, but the defender's shot hit the post.

Hibernian raised their intensity after the break, with Martin Boylescoring a well-executed penalty, awarded due to a Liam Scales handball, a just reward.

The home team pressed hard for an equalizer, with Chris Cadden coming close late on when his shot was blocked by Kasper Schmeichel.

Hearts, Hibernian’s fierce Edinburgh rivals, dropped points for the third consecutive league match on Saturday with a 0-0 draw away at Motherwell.

Rangers’ four-game winning streak in the league under new manager Danny Rohl, who replaced the dismissed Russell Martin, ended as Falkirk earned a goalless draw at Ibrox.

This result left Rangers in fourth place, trailing Hearts by nine points.

Meanwhile, Nicky Devlin’s goal ten minutes from the end secured Aberdeen a 1-0 victory away against bottom-placed Livingston.