Wilfried Nancy says he “understands” why so many Celtic fans opted to leave early during Thursday night’s 3-0 defeat to Roma, admitting his side failed to give them a reason to stay.
A muted Parkhead crowd watched on in frustration as Celtic endured a brutal first half, shipping three goals and never recovering. The performance, one of the poorest home European showings in recent memory, led to large swathes of fans making for the exits before the final whistle, some even leaving at half time.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s League Cup final, Nancy said he holds no resentment towards the support.
“I can understand the reaction,” he admitted in RecordSport. “They wanted to see something different and we didn’t provide what we wanted to. So, they left early. I’ve been a player, it happened to me. And this is something that, obviously, we are not happy to see that. But it’s a fact.
“And the idea is to keep working and to reverse that and to have our fans until the end.”
The Frenchman knows he’s under pressure to deliver a response at Hampden, with Celtic desperate to lift silverware and restore some belief in the stands after a turbulent first week in charge.
The hope is that the Celtic end will be full after full-time at Hampden Park, with Celtic looking to lift their first trophy of the season.
Meanwhile, St Mirren will be looking to run Celtic close again, only falling to narrow 1-0 defeats to the Hoops in both meetings this season.
They last won the competition in 2013, and will be looking to pounce on Celtic’s unsettled form and cause an upset at the national stadium.
