Wilfried Nancy has told Celtic fans to “trust” him to find a solution after his dismal start as manager.
The Frenchman has suffered the worst start to any Hoops manager, suffering three successive defeats in just one week.
After failing to displace Hearts at the top of the table, they failed to defend their League Cup title at Hampden Park on a miserable Sunday after losing to Roma in the Europa League.
Following the defeat to St Mirren, some Celtic fans are already questioning his appointment as Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor, but he is adamant he will get it right.
“I say I definitely want to do better, but I’m asking you not to be patient and to trust what I tell you about being able to see what we’re trying to do,” he said after the Hampden defeat.
“My point is, I see something good, but it’s not enough. It’s not consistent.
“I can understand my fans. That’s completely normal. I can ask my fans to trust me and believe that I can do it, but that’s not my job. I need to act rather than talk.”
Marcus Fraser scores in St Mirren’s opener against Celtic.
Nancy immediately changed Celtic’s formation and decided to play with his preferred back three once he took charge.
But he doesn’t accept that players struggle to cope with the transition.
“No, not at all. To be honest, we played really well in the first half against Hearts, the second half vs Roma and the first half today,” added the former Columbus Crew boss.
“I question everything. That’s my job. It’s our job to try to find solutions here, in the past, etc.
“You couldn’t see it that way, but the structure we had was really interesting. We could go wide, we could go through the middle, we could attack the box.
“For me it’s about taking care of the ball and that’s the only way we can maximize our opportunities to do better.”
Nancy’s nightmare continues
Celtic failed to defend their League Cup title against St Mirren.
Sky Sports’ Alison Conroy at Hampden Park:
Wilfried Nancy’s first week as Celtic manager was a disaster.
3 losses in 3 games. They missed the chance to replace Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership, dashed their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League and failed to retain their League Cup title.
Celtic have had plenty of problems throughout the season, from injuries to recruitment to boardroom unrest, but a new man in charge has generally been able to rejuvenate the team.
Jonah Ayunga doubles League Cup glory for St Mirren
Martin O’Neill returned to the club and brought back that winning feeling. It wasn’t always pretty to see, but it was getting results.
There was never an ideal time for Nancy to take over, but was the biggest week of the season so far the right choice?
The Frenchman knows there is pressure to get a result, but the fans will continue to look higher than that.
Chants of “Sack the Board” continued throughout the game at Hampden Park.
The Celtic hierarchy will need to back their man in the January transfer window after failing to strengthen in the summer, further eroding unity between the club and its fans.
Celtic’s upcoming fixtures
- Dundee Utd (A) – Scottish Premiership – December 17 – Sky Sports live broadcast
- Aberdeen (H) – Scottish Premiership – December 21
- Livingston (A) – Scottish Premiership – December 27 – Sky Sports live broadcast
- Motherwell (A) – Scottish Premiership – December 30
- Rangers (H) – Scottish Premiership – January 3 – Sky Sports live broadcast
