ALEX’S ANGLE: STORM WARNING FOR NANCY

CELTIC knew what they were getting when they handed the manager’s job to Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Brendan Rodgers.

There was a risk factor when they brought in Tony Mowbray and upgraded Neil Lennon.

Ronny Deila was a bit of a gamble, but the appointment of Ange Postecoglou was a monumental step into the unknown.

There have been backslaps and backfires along the managerial route with varying degrees of success and disappointment.

The baton has now been passed to 48-year-old Frenchman Wilfried Nancy who has never managed in Europe and has spent four years in the MLS with CF Montreal and Columbus Crew.

WELCOME TO CELTIC…new boss Wilfried Nancy grips the champions’ famous hoops on his first day at Lennoxtown.

Naturally, his arrival has been likened to that of Postecoglou in the summer of 2021 when the Greek-Aussie inherited the shambles of the previous season when the club stumbled through an error-strewn crusade that saw them shed boss Lennon on their way to a trophyless campaign for the first time 11 years.

At the age of 55, Ange may have been a mysterious figure to the vast majority of fans who would not have been aware of his title-winning exploits in Australia and Japan as well a World Cup Finals adventure with his adopted nation.

He had 27 years of experience of managing teams after initially taking charge of Western Suburbs in the Victoria State League in 1994.

Nancy’s CV doesn’t come anywhere near the credentials of the manager who lost his first three away league games – at Hearts, Rangers and Livingston – and people who should know a lot better were way too quick to write him off.

Ange acted with haste to strengthen areas in his team after witnessing just three or four games. Keeper Vasilis Barkas was jettisoned after just one game following a howler in the new gaffer’s first competitive game, a 1-1 Champions League qualifier against FC Midtjylland at Parkhead.

Defensive midfielder Nir Bitton had been drafted in as an emergency centre-back, but that tenure concluded abruptly following the opening league game of the season after Celtic conceded a late goal from a routine free-kick into the penalty area that was met by Hearts’ John Souttar who rose unchallenged to thump a header into the net.

Scott Bain, who had replaced the awful Barkas, was blamed in some quarters for not leaving his line and coming into traffic to deal with the left-wing cross that resulted in gifting the hosts a 2-1 triumph.

THE CUP THAT CHEERS…Ange Postecoglou holds aloft his second Premiership silverware as the Celtic fans celebrate at Parkhead. 

Ange acted quickly. Former England international keeper Joe Hart, with many critics insisting, at the age of 35, his future was behind him, was signed in a £1million three-year deal from the twilight zone at Spurs.

The London club were also raided for bit-part central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers as the minutes ticked down on the summer transfer deadline.

The stocky pivot, who had been out on loan to six clubs while failing to make an impression at his parent club, joined up at Parkhead in another temporary transfer that was, of course, made permanent the following season in a £6million switch.

Barkas made only one more first-team appearance – a 3-1 Boxing Day win over St Johnstone in Perth because Hart and Bain were unavailable – and Bitton left the club at the completion of his contract at the end of the season.

Ange had been ruthless in giving an ailing team the kiss of life. Hart and Carter-Vickers became pivotal members of his starting line-up every week as he picked up five domestic honours in his two years in the east end of Glasgow.

You and I have heard that Nancy is his own man. We have yet to witness him at work in an entirely new environment.

So far, he has made all the right noises while speaking to the assorted media.

“I am passionate about the game. I was a big fan of Henrik Larsson. When Martin O’Neill started, I was also following the club,” he has said.

HAIL, HAIL…Liam Brady at Celtic Park in June 1991.

“When Ange came I watched many games because the way he was playing had similarities. After that, I know Brendan Rodgers from what he did at Leicester and so on.

“Victor Wanyama was one of our players for two years. So now I know exactly the club. So, yes, I did my due diligence and I know where I put my feet.”

Nancy may well be of the belief that he knows what to expect as manager of Celtic.

With the greatest respect – and with no intention of raining on anyone’s parade – Nancy cannot possibly comprehend what is awaiting him in Glasgow.

I’m fairly certain he will never have experienced the intensity, the ferocity and the ceaseless expectation levels that will be demanded of him in his new role.

Nancy is going from a stroll in the park to an odyssey through a minefield.

There are no comfort zones for those entrusted with the keys to the kingdom at Parkhead.

Liam Brady became a good friend of mine during his years as Celtic manager from June 1991 to October 1993. I was Sports Editor at the Sunday Mail at the time and we often enjoyed one-on-one chats away from cameras and notebooks.

I spoke to him just a couple of days after he had decided enough was enough. He told me: “I’ve got to hold up my hands and say the pressure, without doubt, got to me. Of course, it did.

“You’ve got to ride the storm and, sadly, I couldn’t manage it. That was why I had to resign.”

The words are coming from a legendary Republic of Ireland international, a respected footballer throughout the globe, who experienced the fervour of London derbies during his years at Arsenal and the frantic city conflicts in Turin and Milan in his career in Italy with Juventus and Inter.

Brady’s pedigree is unarguable. But, as a first-time manager, he couldn’t hack it in the hotbed of Glasgow.

A soccer education awaits the erudite Nancy.

These will be daunting days ahead for the ambitious Frenchman.

I wish him every success.

ALEX GORDON

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