Wilfried Nancy has lost all four games since taking charge of Celtic, including the cup final, and is already under intense scrutiny, partly due to his geographical disadvantage.
Struggling Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy was ridiculed for claiming he “knew Scottish football” as he almost signed for Carlisle United. The French player has been told to reevaluate his history, as the Cumbrian city has been part of Scotland for nearly 1,000 years.
Nancy, 48, has already faced calls for her sacking after losing her first four games at Parkhead. Celtic’s new manager had never lost in his first two games until the former Montreal and Columbus Crew manager broke an unwanted record with defeats to title rivals Hearts and Roma in the Europa League last week.
On Sunday, his team lost 3-1 to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final. Now, following Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat away to Dundee United, Nancy became the first Celtic manager since club legend Jock Stein in 1978 to lose four games in a row.
In the post-match press conference, the 48-year-old made the bizarre claim when asked if he was fit to be Scotland’s top player. “I know Scottish football. I know how Scottish football is played. I’m from France, I’m from Europe,” Nancy declared.
“When I was a player, I was close to signing for Carlisle. I know exactly where I am. It’s Scottish football, it’s physical football. There’s intensity and fight and the referee doesn’t really stop it. You say this, but I accept that and I know we’re improving.”
read more: Celtic issue immediate demand for Wilfried Nancy to be sacked after clash with TV reporterread more: Forgotten Liverpool youngster helps Celtic surprise as manager’s nightmare start continues
His comments raised eyebrows in Tannadice’s media room and quickly spread on social media. Some football fans sympathized with English being a second language, with one user writing on
“This is really interesting,” said another. “Seriously what does Nancy smoke?” asked a third. A fourth user commented: “He doesn’t like me at all.”
Nancy declined to say when he was negotiating to join Carlyle. The former defender’s playing career lasted from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, playing exclusively in his native France.
Nancy has previously managed three different clubs and enjoyed success in MLS, taking the Celtic job earlier this month. He was given a two-and-a-half year contract by club leaders to replace Brendan Rodgers, who resigned in October.
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Martin O’Neill took charge and did a fantastic job while Celtic searched for his replacement. The Northern Irishman, who managed Celtic from 2000 to 2005 and won seven of eight games, says he would have “happily” stayed.
Celtic play Aberdeen at home on Sunday, but Nancy admits he is already “burning his butt” after a disastrous start to his tenure. Fans called for his sacking on Wednesday after Dundee United won for the first time in seven games.
“That’s difficult for me, yes,” Nancy admitted. “This is the situation. But again, I’m going to accept it. Like I said to the players, I’m going to stand in front of you guys because I have to. And the fans are not happy.”
“I’m going to accept that. But I also believe that we can do better. And I think we were really close to a good performance today. But it’s not like we could have performed better in the good moments.”
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