Football ultimately is a results business and that applies to every manager, including Wilfried Nancy who this afternoon returned to a game of two halves with his team being outstanding for the opening 45 minutes then torn apart easily by a rotten theRangers side after the break, conceding from three throw-ins.
Nancy’s time is up and so too is Kasper Schmeichel’s who is now a liability in every match he plays. Great career but now nowhere near the level required from a Celtic goalkeeper. Butland was in contrast outstanding for theRangers and game after game now the opposition seems to have a better keeper than us. Enough is enough for both Nancy and Schmeichel.
After the 3-1 defeat to theRangers Nancy spoke to BBC Sportsound and gave no indication that he would resign or be sacked. Indeed he concluded his interview by pointing out that the Celtic board are with him. That will fans protest outside the front door.
Nancy told BBC Sport Scotland: “It was disappointing because we deserved more today, but again we needed more goals.
“The first half was outstanding. The intensity, the pressure, the commitment to compete, but it was only 1-0. In the second half, we conceded three goals from throw ins. It’s difficult to accept, but it’s reality.
“This is not about the players or the tactics, this is about moments. In a few moments, we could have done better. My players were outstanding in the first half, they wanted to do better in the second half, but the way we conceded, we have to be better.
“We have come from behind when we were losing [in previous games], but at this moment there is a bit of fragility when we conceded the second goal.
“This is not about myself, this is about disappointing the fans because I know the meaning of this game. They pushed us in a good way in the first half, they were behind us, but when we conceded goals, we wanted to push again. I can understand the disappointment, but I also saw what we’re able to do. It’s totally normal that they’re disappointed.
“This is reality, but we have to stay together. We are really close, there are many things that can turn around. If it was not the case, I would not talk like this. We have many things that we are really close, but this is not enough regarding a few details. I really believe we can turn things around.
'This is not about the players, this is not about tactics. This is about moments'
Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy speaks about defeat in the Old Firm derby.#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/YRFWyUJkU1
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) January 3, 2026
“We are together with the board.”
‘Celtic, self-inflicted, are in an absolute state!’
Michael Stewart reacts after Rangers’ 3-1 win against Celtic ⤵️#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/KqZDtGcACT
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) January 3, 2026
We don’t need “more goals”, we need to stop conceding every single time the opposition plays a ball forward. 3 at the back does not work. We have shipped more goals in his 8 games in charge than we have for the entire season. Get him out, he should never have been signed. The board have been suckered by the MLS coach of the year badge but the real stats are shocking, 4 years experience and a win rate of 48% before he was signed. An absolute disgrace.
The captain of the Titanic also thought he could turn it round.
Well fried Nancy has to be turned over.
Bringing a sub on who has been at the club less than a week and who has played one game all season sums up his tactical nous.
The sight of Celtic Fans heading for the exits with 20 mins to go as sickening as the result .
Hail Hail.
Jesus wept…..
Martin O’Neill is Celtic FC’s second most successful manager after Big Jock, he won 7 trophies including a treble and reached a European final by playing a 3-5-2 formation (yes we had better players back then) but that’s my point.
MO came into the club again and with the exact same squad decided to go with a different formation to his preferred one and win 7 out of 8 games, why?
We simply don’t have the players to play WN system and today he also (more worryingly) showed his inability to effect games with a change in his formation, a switch to a 4-4-2, Kenny for Scales wae DM & Yang up front when it went 1-1, would have given us the best chance of winning, instead he removed our greatest threat in changing Yang over to the left.
His in game decisions are none existent and if they don’t make a change now I genuinely fear for the Achinleck Talbot game…..
After that car crash there is a line in the sand. Something has to change and only the Board can do that. They need to unify the club. They need to heal the rift between them and the supporters, and between them and the Celtic media. They need to get rid of those who appointed Nancy. They need to decide what to do about Nancy. The players are not blameless but there is no evidence that he has the ability to turn things around on the park. The Board needs to prevent him (and the supporters) taking further punishment. Any manager in the SPFL would get more out of our squad.
What will the Board do? I have absolutely no idea but hope they do not revert to type and do nothing. I have nothing against Brian Wilson but he now needs to earn his money and lead from the front. He cannot hide behind any review of operations which may or may not be happening. Act now or tell us why you believe that no changes on any front is the way forward.