“I don’t think he quite knows what he’s walked into.”
Joe Hart likely did not mean it as an outright criticism of Wilfried Nancy, but there was an unmistakable note of concern in the former Celtic goalkeeper’s voice. Nancy — only eight days into his tenure — had already suffered a second defeat in his second game, a meek 3-0 Europa League loss to Roma, following a home defeat to league leaders Hearts. No Celtic manager had ever lost his opening two matches. Until now.
Parachuted in from Columbus Crew in MLS without European managerial experience, the Frenchman remained composed afterward, insisting he saw “good things” in the second half against a Roma side that did not need to be near their best. That calm, though, worried Hart and many supporters. The prospect of a third defeat in a row — in Sunday’s League Cup final against St Mirren — was terrifying to contemplate.
“It’s not his fault that he doesn’t understand,” Hart, who left Celtic in summer 2024 after three seasons, said on TNT Sports. “I didn’t walk in and just understand what it was to be Celtic. They expect you to win. Wilfried Nancy needs the people who appointed him to be in his ear. Not just telling him about tactics, but telling him how important Sunday is.”
As players walked out to a packed Celtic Park and You’ll Never Walk Alone echoed around the stadium, the camera found Nancy beneath the stadium lights. Hart said Celtic Park is “a special place” on nights like that, but recent mood has turned sour. The club had been riven with disharmony long before Nancy’s arrival — last summer’s recruitment problems, Champions League failure and Brendan Rodgers’ acrimonious exit cast a long shadow. Martin O’Neill’s interim spell steadied things with seven wins from eight, but by the time Roma had a fourth goal ruled out late on, large sections of the crowd had gone home.
“It breaks my heart to see [Celtic Park] like this,” Hart said. “The atmosphere just isn’t there. This is such a special football club, but it’s only special when it’s united. It’s not easy for a new manager and new system, but it’s not rocket science and Nancy’s got to learn quick.”
Roma were rampant as they eased to a second win in Glasgow this term. “It wasn’t good enough, especially first half, we lost too many duels and too many sloppy balls,” midfielder Arne Engels — who missed a first-half penalty — said. “We know we can do better and hopefully we can move on because we have a final in a few days. We need to keep our heads high and move on. It’s up to us to react. We need to look to ourselves to keep performing.”
Nancy, meanwhile, might have to retrieve a discarded tactics board. He switched to an unfamiliar back three for the Hearts defeat and named an unchanged team against Roma, only to watch a horror first-half performance. Celtic conceded three calamitous goals before he could regroup at half-time, making three significant substitutions by withdrawing Kieran Tierney, Benjamin Nygren and Daizen Maeda.
Despite that, he insisted he saw positives. “The reality is we were not able to cope with the intensity,” Nancy told TNT Sports. “The first half was difficult, we were not able to come out of the pressure, but the second half was better. I cannot tell you [the players] didn’t try — they tried. I’m not concerned, I really liked the reaction. They deserve at least to score one goal and the dynamic could change. The result isn’t what we want but I’ve seen good things. This is a bit difficult because my players deserve a bit more, the belief of my players is really strong.”
Pundits inside Parkhead were less forgiving. Former Scotland international James McFadden said “it was a cruise for Roma in the end,” while ex-Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner remarked “the only thing Celtic can do now is try to save face” late on. Former Celtic centre-back and assistant manager Johan Mjällby summed it up bluntly: “It’s all about winning and he needs to understand that. If Celtic don’t win on Sunday… Uh oh.”
Fans voiced a range of reactions online. Hugh highlighted Nancy’s line “I’m not concerned” and said, “Really?! The fans are.” Dougie called Nancy’s perceived arrogance “unbelievable,” criticizing a mid-season formation change and saying O’Neill’s progress had been undone. Eddie questioned the wisdom of appointing a new manager with no Scottish experience before a run of crucial fixtures. Norman argued it was obvious a mid-season change to a manager with a different system was unwise without time to work with the squad. By contrast, Matt urged patience, noting Nancy’s brief spell included tough matches and was not necessarily indicative of the future.
With a cup final looming and questions around unity, tactics and recruitment still unresolved, Nancy’s baptism of fire has left many wondering whether he fully understands the scale of the challenge at Celtic.
