The Hoops boss defended his tactics after his side were torn apart by Roma
Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy(Image: SNS Group)
Wilfried Nancy has shrugged off Evan Ferguson’s damning verdict on his Celtic team.
Roma hitman Ferguson tormented the Hoops on Thursday night as he bagged a brace to fire the Italians to an easy 3-0 win. And the Irishman stuck the boot in afterwards as he claimed several Parkhead stars looked lost.
The on-loan Brighton star said: “We knew they were in the transition with the managers, they changed the formation. You could see, at times, they played well and it worked and, at times, they didn’t, some people didn’t know what they were doing.”
But Nancy defended his approach and insisted his players do know their roles within his new-look 3-4-3 system.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s Premier Sports Cup Final with St Mirren, the Frenchman said: “He can say whatever he wants. The difficulty is, we faced a good team. At certain moments. we struggled and it could have been better for sure.
“But yes, my players know what to do. But after that, the execution was not good at this moment. If he felt it, I have no problem.”
Celtic will now lose Sebastian Tounekti for several weeks after the winger was called up by Tunisia for their AFCON squad. Tounekti will miss crucial clashes with Dundee United, Aberdeen, Livingston, Motherwell and most likely Rangers.
Evan Ferguson
Nancy – who has family ties to Senegal – knows how prestigious the tournament is for African players and hopes Tounekti makes a strong impact.
He said: “I come from Africa, so I know the importance of this competition. So I knew that before, so there is no issue. Sometimes people think that this competition is not important, but this is the World Cup for the African players.
“I come from Africa, Senegal, and this is really important that he can play this competition because he’s going to face adversity and he’s going to be able to learn certain things and I hope that when he comes back, he will be better again.”
Outcast Michel-Ange Balikwisha has also landed a call-up for DR Congo, but Kelechi Iheanacho was left out by Nigeria.
Iheanacho made his injury return during Thursday’s Euro defeat and Nancy hopes he’ll be ready to start sooner rather than later.
He said: ”From what I understand, he didn’t get the call. Was I pleased with his contribution? Yes. I want to see every player because I want to see them in this kind of environment.
“He did well, he did what he likes to do and to be honest, I had in my plan to start him, but physically he didn’t play for a long time, so that’s why the plan was to bring him on the pitch in the second half or in the middle of the second half.”
Fringe man Paulo Bernardo also made an impression from the bench and Nancy could now hand the Portuguese midfielder a run of games.
He said: “Yes. This is difficult for me to evaluate players, assess players, but I have to do it. So that’s why I wanted to make more rotation, to be able to see players in the context. Obviously I knew Paulo before and I know that this is a good player.
“He came in well and also he was not alone. So I want to know a little bit more of the players, I want to see almost everyone in the game to see how they’re going to react and what they’re going to do.”
Meanwhile, Nancy has shot down rumours that long-serving goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods was set to quit the club.
He said: “No, he’s here. He trained with us, he’s committed to what he does, so this is the most important.”