DEFIANT Wilfried Nancy insists he doesn’t have “anything to prove to anybody” as he prepares Celtic for tomorrow night’s crucial Premiership encounter against Dundee United at Tannadice.
The Frenchman goes into the game with the worst record of any new Hoops boss in history after losing three out of three of his first outings.
It’s been a sequence of misery for the Parkhead club with defeats against Hearts, 2-1 in the league at Parkhead, AS Roma, 3-0 in the Europa League at the same venue, and St Mirren, 3-1 in the Premier Sports League Cup Final at Hampden.
For a manager under extreme pressure and scrutiny, the former Columbus Crew head coach remained reassuring calm and positive before his first match outside Glasgow.
Nancy said: “This is my job. It’s a normal reaction.
SMILES BETTER…Wilfried Nancy remains upbeat ahead of Tannadice. Image courtesy Celtic TV.
“Don’t forget that I come from Europe, so I know the way it works and, to be fair, it’s also the same in MLS though not with the same intensity, obviously.
“I’ve also been a player and there’s no problem with that. They can say what they want and I understand that.
“After that, do I accept it or not? That’s not the topic. The topic is to be good with my players, to be good in practice and to be good in games and to win games.”
Nancy, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. It’s as simple as that.
“I just have to be coherent with my team and to do my job as best as I can.
“After that, I think things will turn more positive. For the moment, it’s been 10 days that I am here.
“I knew that it was going to be difficult. We are in a situation where it’s the first time for everyone to have a coach who comes in the middle of the season like this.
“I knew there would be adversity, but I am really happy to be here. I do my job as best as I can and after that things will go in a more positive way.”
IN WITH A SHOUT…Wilfried Nancy yells instructions.
Asked if he was receiving the backing from the Hoops hierarchy, Nancy answered: “I’m very grateful with the people I work with. They know why I am here, they protect me, they know what I want to do for the club.
“They know where we are at this moment and we knew this moment could happen.
“There are bumps. Obviously, I would have preferred the opposite because, trust me, when we do this job, when we lose, this is so difficult, so painful. But this is part of the job.
“But the club, the people within the club, the board and everyone has been spot-on.
“It’s the beginning, and the most important thing is to get this connection with the players. To let them know why I do what I do, the way I want to play and defend and compete.
“Every day I see that there’s an improvement. I can see every day many interesting things and it moves step by step towards what I want to do.”
The champions are six points behind Hearts with two games in hand and a fourth consecutive defeat on Tayside will undoubtedly spark genuine alarm among the support.
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