Celtic board prediction made ahead of transfer window as Rangers hero sends 'Connect Four' dig at Hoops
Here are some of the latest headlines when it come to both Rangers and Celtic
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Rangers and Celtic as they look ahead to battles in Europe.
The Light Blues emerged 3-0 winners over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday night as a double from Bojan Miovski and Mikey Moore’s late effort provided encouragement. Next up for them is a Europa League assignment with Ferencvaros.
It’s Roma for Celtic but new head coach Wilfried Nancy is already facing tough questions, after changing formation on debut against Hearts, and losing 2-1 on home soil. They also have a Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren coming on Sunday. Here are the latest headlines when it comes to both sides of the Old Firm.
Celtic board doubt raised over January transfer window
Former Scotland international and Celtic player Craig Burley has worked with American broadcaster ESPN as a pundit, where Nancy has just come from, as a head coach in the MLS with Montreal and Columbus Crew. Burley is in tune with tensions between the board and fans, some of which has stemmed from a lack of spending in the summer transfer window, and says he isn’t sure if Nancy will get the backing he needs.
He said via ESPN: “Hearts were eight points clear, and that was one of the reasons why Brendan Rodgers lost his job. But there were other things behind the scenes. Political. The task of Hearts, keeping it up for the whole season, there’s a better chance of Celtic coming through.
“Celtic have money. But part of the ire of the lads, the Celtic support, is that the board won’t spend. They spend enough to win the Scottish title, but they won’t spend to take them to another level. But they are still in better shape than everybody else. He should have success there.”
Kris Boyd in tactics board dig at Wilfried Nancy
Kris Boyd has hit Nancy with a board game dig after watching his first Celtic game on Sky Sports duty.
Cameras panned to the Celtic board worming on his tactics board and the Rangers hero reckons the manager of his former rival should focus on the pitch rather than the board. He said: “Wilfred Nancy is going to have to get results quick rather than playing Connect Four on the side of the pitch.”
Speaking after the game, Nancy said: “We had a good first half. We could have been cleaner in the final third because we had opportunities, but we missed a bit of the final pass and execution. I saw some really good things in terms of the mentality and intensity, but now we need to be cleaner when the moment comes. This isn’t the result that we wanted, but I saw good things and also some things that we need to improve.”