Simon Jordan wasted little time in aiming sharp criticism at Wilfried Nancy, even though the new Celtic manager has barely had a moment to settle into life at Lennoxtown.
Nancy has arrived during one of the most demanding stretches of the season, walking into a squad hit by injuries, AFCON departures and a quickfire change in structure after Martin O’Neill’s interim spell.
Yet despite all that, some pundits have been quick to deliver sweeping verdicts after only a single match in charge.
His debut against Hearts has already been pulled apart from every angle. Celtic controlled long spells of the first half but failed to make their dominance count, and the defeat became an easy starting point for critics determined to frame Nancy’s early work as chaotic.
The decision to implement a back-three system after only a couple of training sessions was questioned widely, even though the manager explained that shape was not the reason for the result. Execution, decision-making and small details were the issues he highlighted, but that nuance was quickly drowned out.
Then came the reaction to the touchline tactics board, a coaching tool used routinely across football, but somehow turned into a punchline. Nancy used it to give direct instructions to Callum McGregor, not to confuse players or to grandstand.
In most environments this would barely be noticed, yet in the rush to manufacture talking points, it became a symbol critics latched onto. The moment was exaggerated because it made for easy mockery, not because it had any real bearing on the performance.
Jordan’s commentary took that tone further, sliding from sceptical analysis into outright dismissal.
Instead of acknowledging the context Nancy stepped into, minimal preparation time, a squad in flux and an immediate need to manage big fixtures, he leaned heavily on the idea that the new manager lacked the background to handle the Celtic job. It was a view framed with blunt certainty rather than balanced understanding.
He said: (talkSPORT), “There’s no credentials, in my mind, for managing in the MLS and managing in Scottish football.
“If you don’t get a hold of this, you’ll get your backside handed to you tonight, by a decent European side in Roma.
“You’ve gone out there looking like a coach who is all theory and no practice.
“First impressions are the ones that last the longest. Make the right one.
“When you walk into a situation like Celtic… the focus is instantaneously upon you.
“You shouldn’t need a bleeding tactics board on the side of a pitch. It’s ridiculous.”
The rush to judge Nancy off the back of a single match is premature at best and reactionary at worst. Formation tweaks after a managerial change are hardly unusual, and the Hearts defeat cannot be pinned solely on the new shape.
O’Neill stabilised Celtic over eight strong matches, but Nancy was always going to bring his own approach. Criticism of the formation change ignores the reality that a new manager must embed his ideas eventually, and rarely has the luxury of waiting months to start.
As for the tactics board, the outrage has been blown entirely out of proportion. Managers across Europe use boards on the touchline to make adjustments during games; it is neither uncommon nor controversial.
The only reason it became a headline here is because it provided a visual target for those eager to ridicule Nancy’s methods. McGregor has already explained the board was used to relay simple instructions, which is precisely what it is designed for.
Jordan’s comments also overlook the modern coaching landscape. Dismissing MLS experience as irrelevant fails to recognise the progress of the league and the calibre of managers it has produced.
Nancy’s track record at Montreal and Columbus shows he is a serious coach with a defined philosophy, not an experiment thrown into a job beyond him. He will be measured on results in time, but writing him off before he has even had the chance to build rhythm does little more than feed the noise.
Nancy knows Celtic requires results quickly, and he will understand the scrutiny that comes with the badge.
But early criticism built on caricature rather than context does nothing to help the team move forward.
