Chris Sutton Sends Strong Message to Wilfried Nancy Critics

Chris Sutton has urged the Celtic support to back Wilfried Nancy and give him time to rebuild, calling the early criticism of the Frenchman “utter madness” after a difficult opening week in charge.

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Writing in the Daily Record, Sutton responded to some of the hysteria that followed defeats to Hearts and Roma, warning that knee-jerk reactions won’t help a manager thrown into one of the toughest jobs in British football mid-season.

“There have been some wild takes about Wilfried Nancy after a difficult first week in the job.

“I’ve even seen some fans suggesting if the League Cup Final doesn’t go Celtic’s way he should be SACKED.

“It’s utter madness.

“Don’t get me wrong. Nancy badly needs to get up and running and he really has to get his hands on the first trophy of the season. But to suggest he should be emptied if it goes St Mirren’s way is just ridiculous.

“Even if the unthinkable happens at Hampden – Nancy still needs to be given time. I feel sorry for the Frenchman in a lot of ways.

“He’s come in at a horrible stage of the season and he’s got a squad that has been severely hampered by injuries and a lack of quality in key areas.

“Yes, my old boss Martin O’Neill managed to string some results together but the performances were not always great and there was always going to be a time when that came back to bite them.”

While Martin O’Neill picked up results during his interim spell, the performances were often unconvincing and Celtic’s current weaknesses were always likely to be exposed eventually.

We scraped past Hibs, Dundee and St Mirren; that was never sustainable. Martin did a terrific job back in the dugout; there’s no rewriting that, but he’ll be the first to admit that results were never going to keep up.

That Hearts defeat could’ve happened under any manager. Both goals were the result of players switching off, not tactical failure, and Celtic created more than enough to win the match comfortably. Had they taken them, all the chat would be about how great Nancy is.

As for Roma, that was a top top Serie A side in Europe, and that is never easy, even under O’Neill, Celtic were dismantled 3- by Danish side Midtjylland.

The January transfer window will be huge, the current squad needs support and the manager deserves more than one bruising week before judgments are made.