Nigel Reo-Coker has admitted Wilfried Nancy did not understand the size of the Celtic job after previously backing the coach to succeed at Parkhead.

The former West Ham midfielder was one of the voices who spoke positively about Nancy when Celtic made the move to bring him in. At the time, Nancy arrived with a strong reputation from his work in MLS and there was plenty of focus on his coaching ideas.

But after a difficult spell in Glasgow, Reo-Coker has now changed his tone.

He still believes Nancy had coaching ability, but accepts the Celtic job exposed major flaws in how he approached the role.

Reo-Coker said: (talkSPORT), “It didn’t work out, but I will stick by — initially, at this time — he was a good coach.

“I don’t understand why some people get in different situations and scenarios and feel that they have to change and be brand new.

“You can’t be stubborn. In the modern game of being a manager, anyone with any common sense, whether you want to be a manager or a coach, understands that you have to be flexible.

“You have to be flexible. You have to be versatile. Especially, I don’t think he realised the magnitude of what it meant to manage a club like Celtic.”

That is the key point. Celtic is not a job where a manager gets endless time to work through ideas while results suffer. The demand is immediate, and Nancy never looked fully comfortable with that pressure.

Reo-Coker went further, saying Nancy’s refusal to bend was always going to create problems.

He added: “That was one of the biggest mistakes. I think he was very naïve, in the sense of: regardless of all the conversations he had, to get to a club like Celtic and not understand what it means to manage that club, and try and be stubborn in your patterns of play and style of play…

“It was never going to work.”

That will sound familiar to Celtic supporters who watched the team struggle to find rhythm under Nancy. There were clear ideas, but too often they looked forced rather than natural.

Reo-Coker also pointed to the timing of the appointment as another major issue.

He said: “To implement a style of play and a pattern of play, it takes time. It takes pre-season. It takes that foundation to build with your players, for them to understand what your principles are of a manager, what their roles, jobs and requirements are.

“But to go in halfway through the season and try and do that? You’re always going to be in a losing battle.”

That is a fair part of the argument. Nancy did not inherit a clean slate or a full summer to build. But Celtic still needed a manager who could adapt quickly, win games and understand the level of scrutiny that comes with every dropped point.

Reo-Coker’s comments now read like a clear U-turn from his early backing. He still rates Nancy as a coach, but his verdict on the Celtic spell is blunt: good ideas were not enough, and the job demanded more flexibility than Nancy showed.