With Wilfried Nancy emerging as the frontrunner for the Celtic job, opinions have been coming from all angles and former manager John Barnes has now added his voice to the debate.
Barnes, who spent a turbulent spell in charge of Celtic in 1999–2000, isn’t convinced by the idea of the Columbus Crew boss taking over at Parkhead and made his feelings clear on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
Barnes admitted right away that Nancy isn’t a name he was familiar with and claimed that Celtic need a big name.
“I’ve not heard of him [Wilfried Nancy]. It’s going to be difficult. Once upon a time, at Celtic and Rangers, you needed a big-name manager, and I still feel you do, because it feels that’s what they should have.
“But the reality is, from a financial situation, they’re looking for a manager now who can know the second-tier players or work with players who maybe aren’t the best players, if you like, rather than a manager with a big name who’s going to be able to attract these huge players, because they can’t attract huge players anymore.
“Maybe that’s why they’re looking at him. As much as people will say it’s a step back, I suppose when Ange [Postecoglou] went to Celtic, not many people knew Ange, so maybe they’re going down that route again.”
The second tier part wasn’t worded in the most respectful way, but you can see the point that he’s trying to make. It’s similar to how Ange tapped into the Japanese market; maybe Nancy could bring some knowledge to Celtic.
With reports in both Scotland and the US suggesting the deal for Nancy is progressing behind the scenes, the pressure on Celtic’s hierarchy to get this appointment right is immense and Barnes’ scepticism only underlines how much scrutiny the next manager will face the moment he walks through the door.
It’s an appointment that’s already dividing the fan base, but hopefully, after a few months, everyone will be united by the manager who will bring fresh ideas and hopefully success to Celtic.
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