Wilfried Nancy’s start to life at Celtic ranks among the worst of any manager, and some fans are already fed up after just 15 days.
Losing all four games to date means Celtic are in their worst form since 1978, with former player Stiliyan Petrov saying he could sack Nancy by the end of the month if things don’t improve.
Despite this, Sky Sports News understands that the club’s board still fully supports the new manager.
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Celtic lose 4 in a row under Nancy
Nancy took over after Martin O’Neill’s interim reign and left Celtic with a silver medal, a place at the top of the league and a chance to make a breakthrough in Europe.
Two weeks on, defeats to Hearts and Dundee United have ended any hopes of a Premiership title, dreams of progressing to the Europa League have disappeared, and a loss to St Mirren has left the League Cup gone from the trophy cabinet.
Supporters have called for his removal, but following criticism of the board, chairman Peter Lawwell announced he was resigning, citing “abuse and intimidation”.
Petrov sympathized with the Celtic manager, but warned the 48-year-old that things had to change if he wanted to avoid becoming the club’s shortest manager ever.
‘tactics? What tactics?
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Former Celtic midfielder Stiliyan Petrov talks about Wilfried Nancy’s winless start and whether the new manager will be given time to turn things around
Nancy quickly adopted a new 3-4-3 formation and has been criticized for sticking to it throughout their four-game losing streak.
Evan Ferguson, who scored twice in Roma’s Europa League victory at Celtic Park, claimed some Hoops players “didn’t know what they were doing”.
After the defeat to Dundee United, Nancy told Sky Sports the team were on the right track, insisting: “We know there is improvement. We need to take a step back and look at the situation.”
But Petrov said: “What tactics are there? We haven’t seen anything yet.” “We can only talk about tactics if we see something positive.
“The positive thing is winning games and being able to put yourself in a position where people judge you.
“At the moment I have nothing but negative judgments about Wilfried Nancy, and having said that, he has only been here for two weeks.
“I watched his interview last night (at Tannadice) and felt sorry for him, because it wasn’t his fault.
“Unfortunately you have the chance to be Celtic manager and you have to get results quickly.”
Are Celtic a ‘third place team’ or a team that can compete well enough?
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Chris Sutton and Kris Boyd clash after Celtic’s 2-1 defeat to Dundee United
Petrov insists that the problem is not Nancy’s fault, but where else does the blame lie?
Much has been reported about the club’s reinforcements, with former manager Brendan Rodgers being critical of the signings and even the club’s CEO Michael Nicholson admitting the club failed to bring in key targets in the summer.
Some fans believe O’Neill’s return will fix things in Celtic’s successful transition period, which saw them win all league games, but Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton insists even the 73-year-old still needs to improve the team.
“Martin has done incredibly well,” Sutton told Sky Sports. “But he came forward and said he needed reinforcements in January. He knew Celtic were avoiding that.”
“He’s worked miracles. Let’s not stress that this Celtic team is a good team. They’re average on average and with key players missing, January will be key. This Celtic team looks like a third-place team.”
“We can’t get over the fact that Celtic are very poor in certain areas and we need to improve on that. The only way to do that is through recruiting, and that’s not Nancy. He inherited this team and they haven’t been a good team all season.”
“Martin said his team was struggling and struggling to win games, but he found a way. What he did with that group of players was unbelievable. But he didn’t fall for it. He knew it wasn’t at the level.”
“Nancy needed to come in and give it his all, and he didn’t. Some fans have lost faith in Nancy after four games. They’re going to think, ‘Is that fair?’
Petrov, who played alongside Sutton during O’Neill’s first spell as Celtic manager, agrees that reinforcements are important, but is unsure whether Nancy will make a managerial change.
“Based on what we’ve seen so far, can we trust the manager, the money he wants to spend, the players he wants to bring in?” he added.
“That’s a big question, but there are still two weeks until the transfer window opens.
“And if he doesn’t win games, I don’t think he’ll be in the transfer window.”
Nancy’s appointment was ‘bad timing’
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Celtic lost to Premiership leaders Hearts in Nancy’s first game as manager.
Nancy was appointed just days before the fixture against Hearts in the top flight of the Scottish Premiership, followed quickly by Roma’s Europa League visit and League Cup final against St Mirren.
O’Neill had enjoyed some domestic success as caretaker manager, but was it foolish to replace him before such a crucial week?
“I think Nancy’s appointment was really bad timing,” Petrov said.
“Martin O’Neill was able to give the players that feeling of confidence and winning again, but I don’t think that change should have been made.
“You know what’s really interesting? I once read that Wilfred Nancy and Martin O’Neill had a conversation for just 15 minutes.
“If I were Wilfried Nancy, I would pull Martin O’Neill next to me every day and talk to him about the players, the opponents, what they need to be successful and their expectations.”
‘This is going to take time’ – Celtic CEO backs Nancy
Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson backs manager
Ahead of Wednesday night’s defeat, CEO Nicholson insisted he was fully behind his manager despite their winless start.
The Parkhead boss insisted he understood supporters’ “frustrations” but revealed talks were underway to help Nancy strengthen their squad in January and the summer.
He added that “it’s going to take time” to get the Nancy side firing on all cylinders, but insisted: “We know we have a project to support here and we’re looking forward to seeing where it gets.”
But Petrov doesn’t know how far the board’s loyalty will extend if the situation continues to be no-win.
“You only get time if you win the game. If you lose the game, no one will wait for you.
“Unfortunately we live in a world where people, especially Celtic fans, don’t have a lot of patience.
“Celtic fans have seen a lot of success and at the moment they still don’t know what they want from the manager and the team.
“That’s why they’re so anxious. They just want something to happen. Is it a change or is it a result?”
Should Celtic have learned from Martin’s spell at Rangers?
Russell Martin served 123 days as Rangers head coach
The Rangers took a risk when they drafted Russell Martin in the summer. Although he was not the fan’s choice, Rangers executives praised the way he built the team and the style of football he wanted to play.
The problem was that his supporters denounced him almost immediately.
His football philosophy may have looked good on paper, but there were players on his team who were unable to realize his plans.
Martin lasted 123 days.
Could Nancy’s tenure be even shorter? Is it fair to say Celtic should have learned something from their Old Firm rivals?
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Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy says he believes his side are heading in the right direction despite a 2-1 loss to Dundee United, extending their losing streak to four games.
The Frenchman’s philosophy and style convinced the board that he was the right man to replace Brendan Rodgers, although not all fans were convinced.
Questions arose as to whether the players could execute his style of football. Sound familiar?
Another well-known feature is his post-match interviews.
After the draw with Dundee, Martin told Sky Sports: “It’s a great learning experience for the players. It’s a completely different challenge for them today and a better challenge for us moving forward.”
When Celtic lost to Dundee United, Nancy claimed: “We are on the right track, but this is not enough. We know that. We all want to win, but we are confident because of the games we played and because we see improvement every time.”
At Celtic and Rangers, fans want wins. Whether it’s Dortmund, Dundee United, St Mirren or Sevilla, all that matters is winning.
Martin probably found it the hard way. Celtic appear to have learned little from their time at Ibrox, but could Nancy’s appointment bring about a better ending?
