Wilfried Nancy: Celtic’s winless run has broken records for the wrong reasons, so what happens next? | Football news

Wilfried Nancy’s start to life at Celtic is considered the worst of any manager and, after just 15 days, some fans have already had enough.

Defeats in their four games so far mean Celtic are also in their worst form since 1978, with former player Stiliyan Petrov believing Nancy could be sacked before the end of this month if things do not improve.

Despite this, Sky Sports News understands that the club’s board still fully supports their new manager.

Nancy took over after the interim reign of Martin O’Neill, which left Celtic with the chance to win silverware, go top of the league and progress in Europe.

Fast forward two weeks, and their Premiership title hopes have taken a major blow with defeats to Hearts and Dundee Utd, dreams of Europa League progression fading, while the League Cup is no longer in the trophy cabinet following the defeat to St Mirren.

Supporters are calling for his sacking, while criticism of the board led chairman Peter Lawwell to announce his resignation due to “abuse and threats”.

Petrov has sympathy for the Celtic manager but warned the 48-year-old that things must change if he is to avoid being the shortest-serving manager in the club’s history.

‘Tactical? What tactic?

Nancy was criticized for immediately introducing a new 3-4-3 formation and sticking with it despite the four defeats.

Evan Ferguson, who scored a brace in Roma’s Europa League win at Celtic Park, claimed some Hoops players ‘didn’t know what they were doing’.

Speaking after the defeat at Dundee Utd, Nancy said Aerial sports The team was on the right track and insisted: “I know there is improvement. You just have to take a step back, look at the context.”

But Petrov said: “What tactics? We haven’t seen anything yet,” he said. “We can only talk about tactics if we see something positive.

“The positive things are winning games, being able to put yourself in that position for people to judge you.

“For now, the only judgment is negative towards Wilfried Nancy, and in saying that, he has only been here for two weeks.

“Watching his interview last night [at Tannadice]It made me feel bad for him because, you know what, it’s not his fault.

“Unfortunately you have the opportunity to be a Celtic manager and you have to produce quickly.”

Are Celtic a “third place team” or good enough to compete?

While Petrov claims that the problem is not Nancy’s fault, who else could the fault be attributed to?

Much has been made of the club’s recruitment, with former boss Brendan Rodgers criticizing the signings, while even club CEO Michael Nicholson admitted the club failed to achieve key targets this summer.

While some fans believe an O’Neill return would solve the problems after his successful interim spell in which Celtic won every league game, Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton insists even the 73-year-old is expected to improve the team.

“Martin has done incredibly well,” Sutton said Aerial sports. “However, he came out himself and said there had to be a recruitment in January. He knew Celtic were doing well.

“He’s done miracles. Let’s not pretend this Celtic team is a good team. They’re average, and with key players missing, January will be key. This Celtic team looks like a third-placed team.

“We can’t forget the fact that Celtic are so poor in certain areas and they need to improve. The only way to do that is through recruitment and that’s not up to Nancy – he inherited this team and they haven’t been a good team all season.

“Martin told you his team was filling in the cracks and struggling to win games, but they found a way. It was incredible what he did with that group of players. But he wasn’t fooled. He knew it wasn’t the level.

“Nancy needed to come in and get going and he didn’t. There are fans who, after four games, have lost faith in Nancy and you wonder, ‘Is this fair?'”

Petrov, who played alongside Sutton during O’Neill’s first spell in charge of Celtic, acknowledges recruitment is vital but is unsure whether Nancy will be the manager to make the changes.

“After what we have seen so far, will you trust the manager with the funds and money he wants to spend and the players he wants to bring in? he added.

“It’s a big question, and there are still two weeks before the transfer window opens.

“And if he doesn’t win games, I don’t think he’ll see the transfer window.”

The appointment to Nancy was “bad timing”

Nancy was appointed days before a high-profile Scottish Premiership encounter with Hearts, which was quickly followed by Roma’s Europa League visit and League Cup final against St Mirren.

O’Neill was on a winning run as interim boss, so was it foolish to make this change before such a crucial week?

“I think Nancy’s appointment was really at the wrong time,” Petrov said.

“Martin O’Neill managed to give the players confidence, to make them feel like they were winning, and I don’t think that change should have been made.

“You know what’s really interesting? I read that Wilfred Nancy and Martin O’Neill only had a 15 minute conversation.

“If I were Wilfried Nancy, I would drag Martin O’Neill alongside me every day to discuss these expectations, the players, the opposition, what is needed to succeed.

‘It’s going to take time’ – Nancy backed by Celtic CEO

Before Wednesday night’s defeat, CEO Nicholson claimed he was fully behind the manager, despite his winless start.

While insisting he understood supporters’ “dissatisfaction”, the Parkhead chief later revealed discussions were underway to help Nancy improve the team in January and this summer.

He added that it was “going to take some time” to get Nancy’s team up to full speed, but insisted that “we know we have a project to support here, we can’t wait to see where we’re going to end up.”

However, Petrov is unsure how far the board’s loyalty will extend if his winless streak continues.

“You only have time if you win matches. If you lose matches, no one will wait for you.

“Unfortunately we live in a world where people don’t have a lot of patience, especially Celtic fans.

“Celtic fans have had so much success. At the moment they haven’t seen what they want from a manager and the team.

“That’s why they’re so anxious. They just want something done. Is it change or results?”

Should Celtic have learned from the fate of Martin’s Rangers?

Rangers took a risk by appointing Russell Martin this summer. He wasn’t the fans’ choice, but the Rangers hierarchy admired the way he built his teams and the style of football he wanted to play.

The problem was that his supporters turned against him almost immediately.

His football philosophy may have looked good on paper, but he had a team of players who failed to realize his plans.

Martin lasted 123 days.

Could Nancy’s tenure be even shorter? Is it fair to say Celtic should have learned something from their Old Firm rivals?

The Frenchman’s philosophy and style convinced the board that he was the right man to replace Brendan Rodgers, although not all fans were convinced.

Questions were raised about whether players could execute his style of football. Sound familiar?

Another thing that seems familiar is the post-match interviews.

After drawing with Dundee, Martin said Aerial sports: “It’s a great learning experience for the players. It’s a completely different challenge for them today and we will be better moving forward.”

Commenting on Celtic’s defeat to Dundee United, Nancy insisted: “We’re on the right track, but that’s not enough, I know. We all want to win, but I’m confident because of the game we played and every time I see improvement.”

At Celtic and Rangers, fans demand wins. Whether against Dortmund or Dundee United, St Mirren or Sevilla, only victories count.

Martin may have discovered this the hard way. It seems Celtic have learned little from that time at Ibrox – but can Nancy’s appointment have a better ending?