Wilfried Nancy describes Celtic reign as ‘irrational’ in candid reflection on sacking
Former Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has opened up on his disastrous spell at Parkhead, admitting he needed more time to implement his ideas while describing aspects of his short-lived reign as “irrational”.
The Frenchman endured one of the shortest managerial tenures in Celtic’s history after arriving from Columbus Crew in December last year, losing six of his eight matches in charge before being dismissed after just 33 days.
Nancy immediately attempted to introduce a new tactical system, but his appointment coincided with a demanding fixture schedule, mounting injuries and ongoing tensions between supporters and the Celtic board.
Despite becoming the first Celtic manager to lose his opening four matches, the 49-year-old insists he looks back on his experience positively.
Speaking on the Sur La Ligne Podcast, Nancy said: “It was extraordinary. Extraordinary. The big difference, of course, is the passion. The passion at the fan level, the passion around the club, the passion within the club.
“In the United States, for example, in Columbus and Montreal, there was that same passion, but the difference between them is the passion at fan level. With Celtic in Glasgow, there are no other sports. It’s only football.
“So this is extraordinary, because I am passionate about my profession. I also like to have players who have passion, because I believe that’s what can help win matches. And it was great — it was great because I experienced a new culture and a new environment.
“Of course, Celtic are renowned for what they’ve done, so the idea was to bring something new. That’s why I was committed. When you’re at Celtic, winning Scottish titles is important. You don’t have a choice. But the idea was also to return to the European scene. That’s why the project interested me.
“I also knew that there were many issues regarding the chronic instability for years between the fans and the board. For quite a bit of the period when I arrived, there were a lot of matches and a lot of injured players, but the idea was to go ahead and put things in place.
“After that, unfortunately, it became a bit irrational in terms of performance. I had some really interesting experiences — we should have won more matches. I’m not a guy who talks about what should and shouldn’t have happened, but the reality is that the performance indicators showed that we should have won matches by more than three goals.
“But no, we lost. We lost a few matches, and then there was a bit of fear that settled in regarding the results we had. We still won some matches, but the club made the decision that we wouldn’t continue together despite the fact that we were three points behind first.
“But that’s how it is. It was a good experience for me. Irrational in how it happened, but it was super enriching on my style of communicating, on the fact that it was the first time I arrived mid-season, so ‘How do we get these messages across?’ ‘How do I adjust?’
“The Scots were not very ready. Mind you, I’m not generalising, I’m talking about the football side, ok? They have, in terms of their way of doing things, a difficulty in modifying their ways of doing things. There were some things I tried to put in place, but there was some reluctance.
“But it’s part of my story, and thanks to that period, I feel even stronger, because I learned a lot.”
Nancy was also asked what he would take away from his brief experience in Glasgow, with the former Hoops boss admitting that additional time would have been crucial to establishing his philosophy.
He laughed before responding: “Time! Time is very important, because I needed a little more time to put things in place.
“Then also, the passion. Passion is something I believe in, but being at a club and an environment where there is extraordinary passion — sometimes even exaggerated — you have to experience it once to understand it.
“I loved it, I adored it. I loved it, and it is something I had imagined, but when you experience it, it’s extraordinary. You see people behind the club who’ve known it for their whole lives.
“And they are everywhere. There are some in the United States, but to have 60,000 people who come to every match is extraordinary. So that passion, indeed, was extraordinary.”
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