ASKED to summarise his first two weeks at Celtic, Wilfried Nancy said: “Apart from results, very good.”
It was a bit like asking the captain of the SS Titanic for his thoughts on the liner’s maiden voyage and him answering: “Apart from the iceberg, plain sailing.”
When I heard Nancy come up with that mesmerising quote, it was time to hit the rewind button on the TV and take it back to the beginning of the Sky Sports interview as a scene-setter for the champions’ match at Tannadice.
It’s a ludicrous summation. No-one, absolutely no-one on this planet, is one bit interested in how players are performing at Lennoxtown and how they are adapting to the Frenchman’s new training methods.
Does Nancy need reminding this is a results-driven business?
Heaven help us all if that penny hasn’t dropped yet.
UNDER PRESSURE…Wilfried Nancy’s name rang out around Tannadice – for all the wrong reasons.
Four games, four defeats and four mystifying and disjointed displays from a team that had won seven out of its previous eight outings under the leadership of interim gaffer Martin O’Neill.
Nancy had the opportunity to fire Celtic to the Premiership pinnacle in his debut appearance against Hearts at Parkhead.
He failed.
Nancy had the opportunity to add three points to Celtic’s Europa League tally in his second match against AS Roma.
He failed.
Nancy had the opportunity to win the first silverware of the season when the holders met St Mirren in the Premier Sports League Cup Final at Hampden on Sunday.
He failed.
Nancy had the opportunity to claw back three points on leaders Hearts against Dundee United at Tannadice.
He failed.
At least, we cannot fault the former Columbus Crew head coach for lacking in consistency.
WHAT A MISS – AT THE DOUBLE…Johnny Kenny wastes a great opportunity by blasting the ball straight at Dundee United keeper Davie Richards and (below) the Irishman fails to make contact with a low left-wing cross on a night to forget.
Any doubts about how the Celtic fans viewed the appointment of Nancy were dispelled when both ends of the stadium last night were united in their vehemence that the Frenchman should think about relocating by encouraging him to visit somewhere you will not find on any geographical map.
The time-honoured invitation to “get tae ****” (I’ll let you insert your own word) reverberated around the stadium as the team blew an interval advantage and were then on the back-foot right from the restart.
Was anyone surprised when United equalised? Ditto the second and winning goal.
Not sure how he has achieved it in such a short space of time, but Nancy has managed to suck the confidence out of every Celtic player.
He gibbered on about “making chances” against Jim Goodwin’s team. And, yes, Johnny Kenny could – and should – have had a first-half hat-trick. In the immediate aftermath, former Hoops striker Chris Sutton flagged up he didn’t reckon the young Irishman is good enough for Celtic.
I agree with that and I have said so in the past. Nancy must have seen enough to believe the lad had the quality to lead the attack in a game that was absolutely crucial.
Kenny wasn’t up to the task; that’s a regrettable fact. There is no faulting the young Irishman’s effort or endeavour, but there is very little end product.
Daizen Maeda should have been the main man on Tayside and Nancy could have worked a system around the pacy Japanese, possibly utilising Benjamin Nygren who was stuck on the bench until the 86th minute.
Worryingly, too, Nancy had no answer to Goodwin’s switch in tactics that cut off space to Maeda and crowded Anthony Ralston and Reo Hatate on the right.
A BIG HAND…Wilfried Nancy applauds early in the Tannadice game. The mood changed after the nterval.
But there is still an arrogance about the team chief that beggars belief. To dismiss O’Neill in a 15-minute chat might tell you all you need to know about the size of Nancy’s ego.
In the space of a fortnight, he has experienced four defeats on the spin, the first time Celtic have endured such a excruciating sequence in 47 years.
You have to go back to 1947 for the last time the team lost five in a row.
Aberdeen are the visitors to the east end of Glasgow on Sunday.
Nancy admitted his ass was burning before the game at Tannadice.
His backside must be a raging inferno now.
ALEX GORDON
FOUR IN A WOE: FURIOUS FANS TURN ON NANCY
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