Celtic’s new manager Wilfried Nancy pointed out that there were “really good moments” on his debut in the dugout, despite losing 2-1 to league leaders Hearts, and according to Chris Boyd, the win showed the team could win the title race “to the end”.
Caretaker manager Martin O’Neill managed to overturn an eight-point gap at the top with five consecutive league wins, before Nancy’s opener resulted in a 2-1 defeat at home, handing the advantage back to the visiting nation. Celtic got a consolation in the 93rd minute with a goal from centre-back Kieran Tierney.
Nancy tried to stamp their authority on their new team by switching to a back three in the first game, but despite having a strong 72% possession in the first 15 minutes, the team was unable to seriously test visiting goalkeeper Alexander Schworo until the final 10 minutes.
Still, Nancy defended his team’s play, telling Sky Sports after the game: “The result wasn’t what we wanted, but I thought the first half was really good.”
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Claudio Braga’s goal puts Hearts ahead against Celtic
“We had some chances to break, we had some chances to score. I think we could have done better in terms of last pass and execution, but I really liked the way we disrupted those balances and created chances.”
“It was really fun, so I think this is something we need to work on going forward. We went against our momentum and conceded a goal. If we watch the game again, I think we can improve.”
“We got off to a good start in the second half, but we conceded our second goal in transition. After that, when we wanted to come back, we put in crosses, crosses, crosses, but they were strong in the box.
“I think we missed the connection a little bit in terms of being able to create crosses, passes, more passes than crosses, more numbers in the box.
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Oisin McEntee extends Hearts’ lead
“That’s something I’m going to look at because, like I said, Spirit was spot on. There were some really, really good moments, but obviously it wasn’t enough.
“It wasn’t easy for the players to find out I was here three days ago, but the idea was spot on.”
McFadden: ‘Celtic would have lost regardless of the manager’
Sky Sports’ studio committee were sympathetic to the new manager, who had just undergone his first training session on Thursday after his long-awaited appointment was finally confirmed the night before.
Former Scotland international forward James McFadden said: “Hearts have shown this season that there were games that Celtic could have lost had Martin O’Neill been in charge.”
“If Celtic lose the game they will say, ‘So why are you waiting to bring in a manager who is ready to take over immediately?’ Timing is always difficult.
“The biggest problem was that it was clear that Wilfred Nancy wanted to play in a back three and it was clear that he was going to introduce it as soon as possible.
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Kieran Tierney scored the winning goal in the final minute of the game.
“I’m not saying there’s a problem with changing formations, the top players we’re talking about should be able to deal with it.
“Timing is always going to be an issue for Celtic because Martin O’Neill has probably exceeded his own expectations and the form he’s shown, the results he’s been getting.
“The big thing for me, and I think there are question marks and doubts about how quickly we make changes, was the last away performance, which was our best away performance in Europe, which is something you don’t see too often at Celtic.”
“Then I thought, is there a sense of impatience? We have Hearts, we have a clash at the top, we have Roma, so whether we win or draw, it’s a good result, and if we qualify for the Europa League, we’ll get the (League Cup final) too.”
Boyd: Hearts can stay in title contention forever
Hearts’ win ended Derek McInnes’ side’s four-match winless streak. They have only won one game since beating Celtic at Tynecastle on October 26, Brendan Rodgers’ last game as manager.
McInnes and his players maintained their form ahead of the visit to Celtic Park and were vindicated as they secured their second league win at Parkhead since 2009, bringing daylight between the leaders and the hosts.
With Celtic in next weekend’s League Cup final, Hearts could move six points clear at the top of the table before their next league game.
Nancy’s side will now have two games in hand and in a worst-case scenario they would be level on points with Hearts if they win both, but former Scotland striker Boyd believes the announcement of Hearts’ win shows they can fight for the title “all the way”.
He said: “I’m not going to disrespect Rangers and Celtic. I think everyone there will look at those two and think they have a chance. Hearts went to Glasgow twice and beat Celtic, they beat Rangers and they beat Celtic at Tynecastle as well.”
“They have to have the belief that they can go far otherwise they are in the wrong film. There is a long way to go but you can see from that Hearts team.
“The competition for positions is fierce. Will they strengthen in January? You’d like to think so, they’re not going to spend money on it, but is there a chance that with what’s going on now that will change that?”
“They’ll see they have a chance to go all the way. If they keep their key players healthy, they’ll have a real chance to stay on course and win all the way.”
