Wilfried Nancy finally ends silence on Celtic woe after just 33 days as boss | Football | Sport

Wilfried Nancy has claimed his Celtic players struggled to break free from their comfort zone under his management, and that his widely-criticised style went “beyond winning.” Yet the Frenchman maintains his ill-fated 33-day spell at Parkhead was a “beautiful experience” that perhaps arrived at the wrong moment.

The former Columbus Crew boss took charge following Brendan Rodgers’ departure, after Martin O’Neill had stepped in on a temporary basis. However, two wins and four defeats in six Premiership matches, coupled with a Premier Sports Cup final loss to St Mirren, prompted the Hoops board to pull the plug and send a second SOS to O’Neill. It is a decision that could yet prove worthwhile, with Celtic set for a title showdown against Hearts on the final day of the season.

Nancy believes his players were unwilling to buy into his approach. “When I was at Celtic, I had discussions with many players. They wanted to know when I have the ball,” he told Training Ground Guru.

“So let’s say my number six has the ball, they want to know if we play with a 4-3-3, I want to know that the name of my number eight should be there and my number 10 in this position.

“And I said okay, this gives you safety. But I don’t mind about the name. I mind about how you are going to connect with the players around you. And this could be difficult with people who don’t want to get out of their comfort zone. They’re struggling a bit with that.

“No coach, I want to play one-touch, two-touch football. No, sometimes you have to take ten touches. ‘Yeah but I’m not confident with that.’

“This is my job to show them video and picture of themself on the pitch, discussion and create exercise for them to express and try things. To show them that it works. There’s the voice behind you that is saying if this fails, it’s on you if you make a mistake. That’s why it’s going beyond winning.”

The Frenchman clarified that he was appointed to transform the Celtic approach because of his philosophy of play. However, he acknowledges that outcomes meant he wasn’t afforded sufficient time: “Celtic hired me to change that. I’m not a conservative coach, that’s why they hired me. We had a plan, everything was clear because I did my due diligence.

“But after that, the pressure, we still had everything in our hands to change things and adjust. My idea was not to change everything, it’s impossible. I’m not stupid to come and change everything.

“The idea was to bring something new step by step, or something different. But after that, pressure, and it is so huge, that’s why what happened, happened.

“The support I had from the chairman and everyone was huge. But after that, there are results, and we know in our job that it’s difficult if we don’t include them. Football is irrational sometimes, so it’s a no brainer to say I didn’t have enough time.”

Nevertheless, Nancy maintains he harbours no regrets. He added: “Honestly, it was a beautiful experience because first of all, you have the passion,” he said. “I do my job with passion.

“That’s why I love my job and I’m looking for a player to play with passion. In this club and the fans and the city, we can feel it.

“It’s been amazing for that. Obviously things could have been better but life is about moments. The moment when I went there, with reflection, was maybe not the good moment.

“The Celtic brand, this is something that I like a lot. That’s why I wanted to go over there, despite the fact that I had many opportunities, with a lot of humility, with different clubs.

“That’s why I put everything into perspective. After that, the pressure is the pressure and they changed their mind.

“But I spent a really, really good time over there. I didn’t have enough time to put the way I coach, the way I do things. But this is the way it is. I have no bad words regarding what happened over there. It’s part of my journey.”