WILFRIED NANCY is remaining positive despite the false start to his Celtic managerial career with the disappointing 2-1 Premiership loss to Hearts at Parkhead on Sunday.
The Frenchman is back in the spotlight at the same venue tomorrow night in his first-ever Europa League encounter when AS Roma are the visitors.
Nancy, who signed a two-and-a-half year contract to become the long-term successor to Brendan Rodgers just last week, came in for criticism after the champions blew the ideal opportunity to go back to the Premiership pinnacle against the Edinburgh club.
However, the 48-year-old former head coach at Columbus Crew is blocking out the outside noise to concentrate 100 per cent of keeping his new team on track for qualification for the latter stages of the European competition.
POSITIVE THOUGHTS…Wilfried Nancy discusses the way ahead. Image courtesy Celtic TV.
Nancy said: “People have the right to talk. I don’t waste time on that. If I use the tactics board it’s because it’s good for me. I’m not saying I’ll use it all the time.
“I will be honest. When I had the opportunity to become a coach, I always told myself to cut everything.
“This what I did. I cut everything on Twitter regarding my name, the club, what people can say.
“They have the right to say something. This is part of the job.
“After that I’m not here to comment on everything. We can go to the restaurant and you say you don’t like the food, but I like it.
“At the end of the day, this is part of the job and I control what I can control with the players I work with to maximise our chances to win games with good performances.”
Nancy, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “Everyone talks about the system, but we played with a back four in the last game. Yes, defensively, you’d think it was a five, but it was a four or sometimes a three.
“It’s not about the system, it’s about the concept, about how we want to play.
“How do we connect better? How can we attack the box and disrupt the lines? This is important.
OOPS…Wilfried Nancy reacts to a Celtic malfunction against Hearts.
“The system is not important. If I do something it’s because I believe it will be good for the team and if I have to adjust some things I will do it.
“The idea is to be current with the way I am as a coach and the way I see football, to give time to my players to process everything.
“I know I need to win to buy time, but it’s the same in the MLS, it was the same as a player. It’s the same for you in your job – you have to be good to stay. It doesn’t change.”
Nancy added: “At the weekend, we had good moments with and without the ball. but after that, we could have been better.
“But I’m pleased, not with the result, but with how we played, with the way each player wanted to connect. It was interesting for our first game.
“As a coach, my job is to find solutions and after that it’s to prioritise. Obviously I cannot show everything since I’ve come here, but the idea is to prioritise.
“Don’t forget, we have a good base already. My job is not to change everything, my job is to add certain nuances offensively and defensively.
“I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve seen so far.”
Celtic go into the Serie A cracks on seven points after picking up a welcoming 3-1 win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam a couple of weeks ago.
Nancy will be aware a victory is imperative if Celtic are to make progress in the tournament.
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