Celtic Chief Executive Michael Nicholson and major shareholder Dermot Desmond have broken their silence on the decision to sack Wilfried Nancy. The Frenchman was sacked after losing six of his eight games in charge.
In a statement on Monday evening, Celtic confirmed the return of Martin O’Neill as interim manager until the end of the season. The Irishman returns to the club where he will be assisted by Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
However, the club have received sizeable criticism for their appointment of Nancy when retaining O’Neill appeared to all to be the best option.
In fairness to the club, they have recognised that both Nancy and Paul Tisdale’s roles were untenable and, accordingly, they were dismissed on Monday. Nicholson, who is not without criticism for the appointment of both, addressed Nancy’s sacking.
“Wilfried is someone who we will always respect, and while it is unfortunate that things did not work out, we certainly offer him our best wishes and hope that he can once again achieve success in his future roles.”
Dermot Desmond reacted by wishing Nancy well while emphasising the disappointment felt by the club at the poor results.
“When we appointed Wilfried to the role of manager, clearly we thought we could enjoy a successful period under his control.
“Unfortunately this did not work out in the way we would have liked, and while he and the club are disappointed with the recent period, I want to take this opportunity to wish him well in all he does going forward.”
The Celtic hierarchy need to use this time to their advantage. O’Neill is one of a few managers that would be able to galvanise and unite the club. Nicholson and Co could assist by opening dialogue with supporters and bringing the Green Brigade back into the ground and helping assist in turning Celtic Park back into a fortress.