![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_JS389868783.jpg\")
Wilfried Nancy during his first press conference as Celtic <\/p>\nWilfried Nancy will be his own man, he\u2019ll have his own ideas about how he\u2019ll want to play but there\u2019s one thing he should knowWilfried Nancy during his first press conference as Celtic <\/p>\n
Wilfried Nancy is finally in the building \u2013 and he\u2019s already made one great decision already.<\/p>\n
The Frenchman revealed he\u2019s spoken to Martin O\u2019Neill<\/a> and that is a decent first step for me.<\/p>\n I said in these pages last week it would be foolish to not speak to the outgoing interim manager.<\/p>\n Instead he\u2019s opted for the smart move.<\/p>\n Nancy<\/a> will be his own man, he\u2019ll have his own ideas about how he\u2019ll want to play. This move has been a month in the making so he\u2019ll also have had the chance to analyse everything about the squad, what it can and can\u2019t do.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s still nothing that can prepare you for life in Glasgow. I thought I had a good knowledge of British football when I arrived in this city.<\/p>\n Yet I couldn\u2019t believe just how crazy it was.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what is awaiting Nancy but there\u2019s no better way to get a feel for his new surroundings than to talk to the man who\u2019s been in there for the last five or six weeks.<\/p>\n And, knowing Martin, there won\u2019t have been any sugar coating either.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to have been a fly on the wall to guess what the outgoing boss told the incoming one \u2013 win no matter what.<\/p>\n That\u2019s been O\u2019Neill\u2019s mantra throughout and it\u2019s the one thing Nancy will need to do as well \u2013 despite some of his claims yesterday.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not going to be easy. In fact, in some ways it\u2019s an impossible task.<\/p>\n This is a Celtic<\/a> squad that was already lacking after the summer but it\u2019s not being stretched to the limit.<\/p>\n Martin has had to rely on a core group to get the job done in recent weeks but it\u2019s already taking its toll.<\/p>\n He\u2019s discovered who he can and can\u2019t trust and it will be over to the new man to do the same.<\/p>\n I was delighted O\u2019Neill got the send off he deserved and walked away with his standing among supporters actually enhanced,<\/p>\n But in some way he has actually inadvertently cranked up the pressure on his successor by being so successful.<\/p>\n Nancy is stepping in ahead of a huge week and a brutal run of fixtures. He\u2019s got seven games until the big derby at New Year \u2013 and it\u2019s going to be about just getting by.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not going to be a coach in this first month in the job \u2013 he needs to be a manager.<\/p>\n There\u2019s not going to be a week on the training ground until into January so there is no way he can implement all his own ideas.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll have to be a gradual process. And it might not be straight forward.<\/p>\n Celtic WILL drop points over the next few weeks. But that would be the case no matter who was in charge.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tough enough period when you\u2019ve build up a head of steam from the summer.<\/p>\n Even more so now for a Celtic side that\u2019s struggling badly with injuries and gaps in the squad.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neill recognised it as well. The results were brilliant under his short reign, but the performances were secondary.<\/p>\n It took a large goal at St Mirren, a Kasper Schmeichel save at Hibs, even at the end against Dundee it got a bit nervy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not been perfect but winning was the be all and end all.<\/p>\n The same applies to Nancy. There will be a huge contradiction at play here.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll have to hit the ground running to win over the support but at the same time he\u2019ll need time and patience.<\/p>\n Those are commodities in short supply in these parts but there has to be a realisation about how difficult a task he has in hand.<\/p>\n Nancy might be seen as a coaching whiz \u2013 but he\u2019s not Harry Potter.<\/p>\n He can\u2019t wave a wand and fill those gaping holes in the side.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a real baptism of fire and it will be interesting to see what he does with the spaces he has in the coaching department as well.<\/p>\n Nancy has brought over some of his own men \u2013 which is a positive for me \u2013 but there is some room to add a couple more.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been talk about keeping the likes of Shaun Maloney<\/a> and Mark Fotheringham around, and that might not be a bad idea. Especially in the short term.<\/p>\n By all accounts the pair of them have made a real positive impact on the squad with Martin at the helm, and it could help the new team adapt to life in Scottish football.<\/p>\n Those guys have a knowledge of the game in this country and now have a handle on the players.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure Nancy will have his own ideas and he might want to go in a different direction, it\u2019ll be entirely up to him.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good option to have though if they are willing to stick around. At the same time, Maloney and Fotheringham have both been managers in their own right, they might fancy different challenges and some managers coming might not be comfortable with that situation over their shoulders.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen, but in the meantime Nancy will need to try to soldier on until January and hope the recruitment department are doing plenty of work in the background to bring in reinforcements.<\/p>\n He also has to get through this first week \u2013 and I don\u2019t envy him.<\/p>\n There is every chance Celtic could drop points to Hearts but it wouldn\u2019t be on Nancy.<\/p>\n It might be in the eyes of the fans but that would be unfair. Roma is a different animal but the League Cup<\/a> Final is a massive one.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1_JS389674855.jpg\")
Martin O’Neill <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Celtic-FC-Training-Session-And-Press-Conference-UEFA-Europa-League-202526-League-Phase-MD4.jpg\")
(Image: SNS Group)<\/p>\n