Q: After your first four games, it was a difficult period and there was a lot of criticism. And you admitted that it was a little bit of a surprise how ferocious things can be in this part of the world. But, you know, even just since the other night, Rod Stewart has been on social media saying things. I mean, are you starting to realise just how crazy the whole environment here is when you get a guy like Rod Stewart criticising you?
Rod Stewart with a party political broadcast on behalf of #NancyOut movement #Scotswatch pic.twitter.com/GzLzEAWUpB
— Neil Roarty (@neilroarty) December 31, 2025
Wilfried Nancy: “Yeah, I realised that. And this, everybody can talk. You know, I am who I am. I know what I want to do. And, again, as you know, I came in in the middle of the season. So, this is a reality. I am pleased to be here. And after that, it’s a famous club. So, everybody can talk. Me, again, I have nothing against that. And I can understand also because of the kind of results. But, again, when we go deeper, like I said, I see what we need to do. I see the improvement. And after that, not everybody can see that because we are so focused on results. And this is totally normal.
“When we win, we are happy. When we lose, this is difficult to accept. But, at the same time, this is also the reality of this. I’m not saying that I’m happy with that. I’m saying that we are working on that and I know that we’re going to be able to reverse that.”
Q: Have you felt under stress yourself over the last month? Or have you been able to remain pretty calm?
Wilfried Nancy: “Listen, the way I am as a coach, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be good and to find a good decision. And, obviously, I saw the environment when they are not happy. But I knew that before I came. So, yeah, this is part of the job.”
Wilfried Nancy. Motherwell v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. 30 December 2025 Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
Q: Because this game means so much to supporters, does this feel like a big opportunity for you that if you win this game tomorrow, that you could maybe change the opinion of some of the supporters?
Wilfried Nancy: “I’m not here to change the opinion on everything, on anybody. I’m here to do as best as I can. I’m here to help the team to win. And after that, the opinion will change or not. But the most important is, can you imagine, I need to, as a job, I have to do my job. And you’re asking me to think about what people are going to think about me. No, I know, depending on what we’re going to do, how everything can go. So, again, this is the opinion, this is opinion. I want the best for the club. This is the most important. I want the best for my players. This is the most important. And, obviously, we want to win games. That’s why I’m here.”
Q: Wilfried, we’ve just spoken to your new signing Julian Araujo. Can you tell us what he brings to Celtic? Has he got a chance of starting tomorrow?
Wilfried Nancy: “So, he brings freshness, new energy. He’s a young, talented player. He can play on the side as a full-back or wing-back. Yes, he hasn’t played a lot recently. But he’s going to be able to help us. He’s going to be in the group, yes, for tomorrow.”
