Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy faces Dundee United at Tannadice on Wednesday night with the pressure turned up after three defeats in his first ten days in Glasow.

A loss to Hearts at Celtic Park, defeat to Roma, then a League Cup final defeat against St Mirren has set a brutal opening chapter. However, the Frenchman did not flinch when asked about the heat. He framed it as part of the job and made clear his focus sits inside the training ground.

“This is my job. This is a normal reaction. Don’t forget that I come from Europe, so I know the way it works,” Nancy told Celticfc.tv. “And to be fair, also in MLS it’s the same, not with the same intensity obviously, but I’ve been a player also, so no problem with that. They can say what they want and I understand that. After that, do I accept or not, that’s not the topic. The topic is to be good with my players, to be good on the practice, and to be good also during the game to win games.”

Pressed on proving doubters wrong, he pushed back. “I don’t have to prove anything for anybody. Simple as that. I have to just be coherent with my team and to do my job as best as I can. After that, I think that things will turn on my, not on my side, but it’s going to be more positive. For the moment, it’s been 10 days that I’m here.”

That time frame matters. He walked into a schedule that allowed little onboarding. Nancy acknowledged the difficulty of a mid-season arrival at a club with Celtic’s expectations, while doubling down on the internal benchmarks he wants to hit.

“Like I said, I knew that before I came here that it could be difficult regarding the situation, regarding the fact that this is the first time for everyone to have a coach who comes in the middle of the season like this.

“So I knew that it could be a lot of adversity, but again, like I said, I’m really happy to be here and I do my job as best as I can. After that, things will go in a more positive way.”

Supporters will want evidence on the pitch. Nancy believes they will see a team tightening its connections and building clarity out of possession as well as in attack. His message was that the signs exist already, even if they are not yet visible to the outside.

Celtic fc coach Wilfried Nancy
3D9G4PD Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy during a press conference at Celtic FC Training Centre, Lennoxtown. Picture date: Friday December 5, 2025.

“It’s the beginning. Again, for me, the most important thing is to get this connection with the players, to let them know why I do what I do, regarding the way I want to play, the way I want to defend, the way I want to compete. Every day I see that there is an improvement.”

Tannadice is a harsh measuring stick when the mood is volatile. A first win would not fix everything, but it would steady the noise and give Nancy proof that the daily work is landing. That is the task now. Clear plan. Clear roles. Clean performance. Celtic need a result. What they don’t need to see is Liam Scales darting down the left-hand side on the overlap.

You can have a philosophy but accept the limitations of your current squad and deal with it accordingly. Right now, it feels like he’s trying to push players beyond what they’re capable of doing.