Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy has been in the job for not even two weeks. For some supporters, it has felt like a full season.
Hired mid-season to replace Brendan Rodgers, he has endured a turbulent start: three straight defeats, including a Scottish League Cup Final loss, and growing pressure from fans and pundits.
Ahead of Wednesday’s critical match against Dundee United, Celtic sit six points behind league leaders Hearts with two games in hand, a gap that could close if Nancy’s ideas start to land.
A lot of the blowback against him is his tactics, but the Frenchman has pushed back at the suggestion that his approach is complicated. “First of all, this is not rocket science, what I’m saying in terms of football… I am a coach with just ideas. And they [the players] did it before. I’m just asking my players to play with a few nuances.
“But I don’t try to invent football, just to be clear.” He kept steering away from formation talk, back five versus back four, and toward roles, spacing, and mentality.
“The system is useless to talk about… because again, the idea is when we play with a back four and the opposition plays with six players between the lines, players have to come back to create a 6v6. I don’t ask my players to come back. I ask them to attack.”
For him, it comes down to building something that fits Celtic’s DNA: progressive, aggressive, attacking football that matches the demands of the crowd.
The speed of change has drawn criticism, especially with results slow to follow, but he has not shifted from the plan. “I’m here not to please myself. I’m here to find a way to help my players to play together offensively and defensively…
“For me, it’s about character. It’s about personality. It’s about coherence.” With games every three days, limited training time, and expectations rising, he wants the groundwork laid now. “This is only the beginning… Step by step, we put everything to connect and to have better performance, consistent performance.”
Wednesday brings a must-win feeling. A victory over Dundee United would trim the gap and quiet the noise, but Nancy keeps bringing the focus back to what drives a win. “Beyond winning is… what do you have to do to win? And for the moment, we haven’t won, so it means that we have certain things that we have to do better.
“But the way we do it, we are on the good step to maximize our chance to win.” United’s recent defensive form will test Celtic’s patience and precision. The aim is to turn flashes into full matches. “We had a good first half against Hearts. We had a good second half against Roma. We had a good first half against St Mirren. But it was not enough.”
That is the thread running through his message: belief in the process while building resilience. He wants the team to stay brave when the rhythm breaks.
“I like to be here because I told them it’s unbelievable to play for this club and in front of this crowd… But when things don’t go the way we want, is it possible to keep going? And this is the little gap that I try to convince my player to face.”
As Celtic head into Wednesday night, the question is simple. Can this Celtic side win under the new manager.
