Celtic’s Auston Trusty has addressed Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous tenure in a new interview.
Nancy was appointed as manager at the beginning of December, with Martin O’Neill stepping aside as interim boss.
After just 33 days in charge, he was sacked. O’Neill and his coaching staff rejoined on an interim basis
Nancy came under fire for his bold style, which saw him switch to a back three, with several players playing in unfamiliar positions.
It proved to be too much change in too short a time, particularly with such important games staring him right in the face.
That isn’t all on Nancy, with the timing of his appointment raising questions about the board’s decision making process.
Paul Tisdale, who was then Head of Football Operations, also departed the club after he was integral in identifying Nancy as Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor.
Now Trusty, who played an integral role in helping guide the Hoops to a domestic double, has spoken about the former Columbus Crew boss’ short tenure in Glasgow.
Speaking on Charlie Mulgrew’s Pitch to Par YouTube channel, he said:
“Obviously, what happened, happened. It didn’t work out.
“He came in at a really hard time, the team wasn’t performing at its best at that period. You can talk for days about what went wrong, what went right, but at the end of the day, we won the league. It’s not really worth getting into.
“You could tell he was really a good guy and really was trying his best.
“I know all the stuff that’s said online, but as players, we can’t control all that kind of stuff. But as a person, a good guy.”
It’s obviously a period that the players are eager to put behind them, especially given how they went on to sign off the season in style.
The board’s search for their next permanent boss continues, with Robbie Keane a frontrunner.
Martin O’Neill is yet to meet with Dermot Desmond, with talks scheduled very soon.
There is seemingly a reluctance to venture further out for overseas managers; perhaps Nancy’s tenure has had an effect.
With O’Neill having returned to steer the ship and clinch the title, he remains an obvious candidate to stay for at least one more year. That does depend on whether he has the appetite to remain in the dugout at 74.
