Forget O’Neill: Celtic can save season by hiring “box office” Nancy upgrade
Celtic head coach Wilfried Nancy backed himself to turn things around at Parkhead after he oversaw a 3-1 defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
The French boss claimed in his post-match interview that he believes that the Hoops are “close” to achieving success on the pitch, but that the results are not matching the performances.
Ultimately, though, he has lost six of his eight matches in charge of the Scottish giants and that will bring his future into doubt because of the high standards that are expected of the club.
Why Celtic should sack Wilfried Nancy
The Athletic’s Chris Hamill claims that Celtic and Nancy are not right for each other and that it is a “disconnect for the ages”, placing the blame on those who appointed him in the first place.
Chris Sutton, meanwhile, says that it is “time to move fast and be decisive” after describing the decision to appoint a “stubborn” manager as a bad one, suggesting that he thinks the club should act now.
It is hard to disagree with that assessment and BBC broadcaster Tom English backs it up in the clip below, going as far as to say that the Frenchman’s position at Parkhead should be untenable after six losses out of eight.
Celtic are now six points adrift of Hearts and have already lost the League Cup final on Nancy’s watch, but there is still time to salvage the season to win the league and compete for the SFA Cup.
The manager Celtic should hire to replace Wilfried Nancy
Some supporters may still wonder why Martin O’Neill was not given the interim role until the end of the campaign after he won seven of his eight games in charge after Brendan Rodgers resigned.
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However, it was right of Celtic to think of the mid to long-term, as O’Neill was only a short-term fix. The issue, on current evidence, is that they appear to have got the short-term all wrong with the appointment of Nancy.
The Hoops board can save the club’s season, whilst still focusing on the mid to long-term, though, by sacking the former Columbus Crew manager to bring Ange Postecoglou back to Parkhead.
Back in October, it was reported that Celtic were considering an approach for the Australian head coach as a replacement for Rodgers, but they ultimately decided to go with Nancy.
The 60-year-old boss, who favours a 4-3-3 formation, would still be an appointment with the mid to long-term as a permanent hire, but his experience and record at Celtic show that he would also immediately improve results in the short-term.
Postecoglou, whose press conferences were described as “box office” by reporter George Sessions, won five out of six domestic trophies in his two seasons with the Scottish giants, including the Premiership title in both campaigns.
The former Nottingham Forest boss only lost six out of 76 Premiership games in charge, per Transfermarkt. Nancy, meanwhile, has lost four of his six league games at Celtic, which means that he would have to lose just two of his next 70 games in charge to equal Postecoglou’s loss record.
Celtic stats
Postecoglou
Nancy
Matches
113
8
Losses
18
6
Points per game
2.31
0.75
Goals scored
284
11
Goals scored per game
2.5
1.4
Goals conceded
108
18
Goals conceded per game
0.95
2.25
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, the former Hoops manager could get the team scoring more goals and conceding far fewer goals, which is why he was so successful in his two years at Parkhead.
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Some may say that you should never go back to what has worked before, in danger of souring things or lightning not striking twice, but Celtic did it with Brendan Rodgers, and he won the title in both of his full seasons in the dugout.
Therefore, the board must consider acting fast, as Sutton suggested, and sacking Nancy to bring in another manager to save the 2025/26 campaign.
Celtic 1-3 Rangers: Chris Sutton slams star who "had a shocker" in Old Firm derby
It was a day to forget for the Hoops.
ByTom Cunningham
Postecoglou could save their season by turning the team’s form around, with his proven track record at this level, to attempt to win the two domestic trophies still on offer.