Wilfried Nancy has revealed the message he delivered to his Celtic players after another painful loss, as the pressure on the Frenchman continues to mount.
Celtic’s 2-1 defeat to Dundee United on Wednesday night marked their fourth consecutive loss under Nancy, a run that has seen them concede ten goals and score just three.
The match at Tannadice saw an early goal from Daizen Maeda give the Hoops a lead, only for a second-half collapse to hand United their first win in seven matches.
The away fans chanted for Nancy’s removal and called for the return of Martin O’Neill, as frustrations boiled over.
Nancy sat in the dugout, absorbing the boos from fans and the chants from a disillusioned support.
Speaking post-match, the Celtic boss explained what he told his squad: [TCW]
“I told them that we had the chances, what I told you. We had many chances, and we have to score on this one, because if we don’t score, we know that the game is not finished. And after that, we lost the game in three minutes.
“This is what I told them. And one moment, on this one, we have to be better. We have to be better, because, again, the performance was good.
“We improved, we improved, we improved. And suddenly, boom, we conceded a goal. Set piece. On the second wave. We improved, we improved, we improved. We were close to score goals and to win the game. And suddenly, boom again. And they know that, on this one, they didn’t do well. And obviously, this is a fact.
“But at the same time, I repeat myself, I see a lot of improvement. Because today, we deserved to win, but we didn’t win. And at the end of the day, we lost the game. And this is what I told them.”
While Nancy believes his team are progressing, the defensive frailties continue to be exposed.
Celtic have now conceded 50 shots across their last four games, a stat that reflects more than just bad luck. You can’t be inviting that pressure and expect not to concede goals.
With Aberdeen visiting Parkhead on Sunday, Nancy faces yet another must-win fixture to try to calm the growing storm surrounding his tenure. Fail to win that, and he could be out of a job before Christmas.
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