Chris Sutton says Wilfried Nancy will be lucky to survive as manager and called for decisiveness from Celtic after the Frenchman ensured six defeats in eight games after losing the Old Firm derby to Rangers.
Nancy got her first taste of Old Firm action after an impassioned pre-match press conference pleading for time and patience following a record poor start to her life at Parkhead. Celtic took the lead in the first half thanks to a brilliant strike from Yang Hyun-joong, but Rangers came back and won 3-1.
Youssef Cermiti scored the first two goals for the away team, before Mikey Moore added a third, past Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who was slow to stop the goal.
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Watch highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers.
This is the first time in 152 consecutive home league games that Celtic have failed to win despite taking the lead.
Celtic’s home defeat also means the Hoops have lost consecutive games to Rangers at Parkhead for the first time since 2020. Celtic are currently without a win in five Old Firm derbies. After the match, a protest was held in front of the stadium in front of the board of directors.
After the match, Sky Sports pundit Sutton said: “I didn’t think this was Rangers’ best team. But with Wilfried Nancy, on the one hand, Wilf! It’s not going well. I think he’s lucky to survive this.”
“People say, ‘It’s not Wilfried Nancy’s fault,’ and maybe it’s not, but the club really has to be decisive.
“They can’t sit back in terms of signing players, but if they want to stick with Wilfried Nancy, and I’m not sure they should, because there are probably players out there who have a better chance of winning a premiership with them.
“If they’re going to stick with him, they’ve got to support him with players who can play the role he wants. (Anthony) Ralston has struggled mightily. Celtic need a new goalkeeper. They need a number of centre-halves.”
“Certainly they need a centre-forward, and that’s the bare minimum they need. But if they’re going to back him up this week in terms of bringing in the right players, they need to back him up. But can you believe the club will do that on the basis of summer reinforcements?”
Nancy’s record is ’embarrassing’ – but it’s not all his fault
Sutton pulled no punches at Nancy but admitted he should not bear all the blame for Celtic’s poor performance.
“I feel a little bit sorry for Wilfried Nancy,” Sutton said.
“It’s a bit like Reuben Amorim at Manchester United. If this is the way Wilfried Nancy teaches and plays with a back three, whoever talks to him, you’re going to come to the club, we’ll support you, what are you going to do, Wilf? And he says, I’m going to destroy everything. I’m going to go with a back three.”
“You’ve heard Auston Trusty say that the players haven’t bought into it and haven’t adapted to it.It’s because of the level of the players, no matter what you say, and the level of the players is not at the club.
“They were struggling under Brendan Rodgers. They weren’t playing well and they weren’t playing great under Martin (O’Neill). I don’t care what anyone says, but he found a way to get results.”
“But Wilfried Nancy justified playing like this when he was always getting results. Playing in patches is fine, but losing six out of eight games is embarrassing for the Celtic manager.”
Boyd: Nancy ‘worried’ but players also have responsibility
Former Rangers striker Chris Boyd believes Celtic should be more patient with Nancy and criticize the players instead.
“Nancy begged for time,” Boyd told Sky Sports. “There seems to be a mood here at the moment, but if I were Celtic I wouldn’t make any willful decisions. Patience is a virtue.
“(Benjamin) Nygren was the only player who started today and he hasn’t had any success with Celtic in the past and the players ignored that.
“I could be wrong, but I see how from the first moment Wilfried Nancy arrived at the football club, he brought in a tactical committee, called the captain every 15 or 20 minutes during the game, and tried to run things as if he were dealing with students. That was too fast, given the limited time on the training ground.
“That’s the anxiety you have as a manager. When a manager goes in there and says, I’m true to my principles, this is how I play. He must have looked at that group of players and thought I can’t play this way. In my opinion, he’s probably reached a stage. In my opinion, he must be thinking there. I think he needs to change a little bit.”
Nancy: We deserve better – I think there’s a lot of good.
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Nancy says she’s still focused despite losing six of eight games.
A defiant Nancy told Sky Sports he felt the team deserved better in terms of results.
“Nothing changed for me,” he said. “My focus is to help the players get better, help the team and the staff to get better and find a way to turn things around, because like I said, we’re really close to achieving good things, but sometimes it’s difficult in terms of goals conceded.”
“I want to win the game. Everyone wants to win the game. But this is the reality of the moment. But I see a lot of good things. That’s why the frustration is here, because we deserve to be better. And we have to stick together, and everything will move forward.”
Celtic fans protest outside as players leave Parkhead
Asked about the post-game protests and his message to fans, Nancy said: “We’re going to keep trying. We’re going to keep doing what we want to do and things will be fine.”
“Aside from the fact that we couldn’t have scored any more goals, we looked good enough. We also know we lost, but we have to be objective.”
“Our level at that moment was really, really, really high, that’s the reality.
“And if that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t talk like that. But that’s why I said this is the same story from an outcome standpoint.
“We all know that. That’s why I said we’re very close to turning things around. But yeah, for now, it’s details, details, details.”
Rangers: ‘We silenced the lion’s den’
Boyd had been unimpressed with Rangers before the break, but praised Danny Rolle’s side’s comeback.
“I said at half-time it was an average performance from an average team. I have to say they came to Celtic Park and silenced the Lion’s Den. In the second half they were outstanding,” Boyd said.
“If there was a game of two halves, that’s it. It looks like Rohr corrected his mistake at half-time and let the Rangers team play. The other manager will be flying home tonight.”
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Rangers head coach Danny Rolle reflects on the 3-1 win over Celtic and what a boost it is for the team
WATCH: All the goals from derby day
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Yang Hyun-joong scores a belter to give Celtic the lead against Rangers
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Early in the second half, Youssef Cermiti scored a goal to make it 1-1.
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Celmiti scored his second goal within 10 minutes to give Rangers the lead.
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Mikey Moore scores Rangers’ third goal.
