Wilfried Nancy got his first win against Aberdeen - but ex Dons Chief says it won't buy Celtic boss 'breathing space'
A former Aberdeen, Everton and Aston Villa CEO has had his say on the new Celtic boss.
A former Dons Chief says Wilfried Nancy doesn’t understand Scottish Football, but still points the finger elsewhere for Celtic’s recent poor run of results.
Nancy finally managed his first win against Aberdeen at Celtic Park, however the Dons played the whole second half with 10 men thanks to a Dylan Lobban sending off. Before that, The Hoops boss lost his previous four - the first man to lose that many in a row since January 1978, including an all-important top of the table clash with Hearts and a League Cup final against St Mirren.
After the Dundee United defeat, when fans were calling on him to be sacked, anything less than a win against The Dons would’ve put Nancy in serious trouble. However, while the result may have eased the pressure for the time being, former Reds Chief Keith Wyness says he’s still got a long way to go. He also doesn’t believes Nancy is fully to blame for Celtic’s recent dip in form.
Aberdeen win won’t by Nancy more time
He told Football Insider: “it [Aberdeen win] was against 10 men and it was also 1-1 until I think the last 10 minutes, and he had an injury time third. If it had been 1-1 against 10 men, I don’t think he’d have had much breathing space. So you’ve got to put that into context.
“I think everybody is wanting him to succeed, but we’ll see. I mean, losing that cup final was just a big disaster for them in terms of his, you know, he’s coming in there and trying to follow Martin [O’Neill]. It’s a complex situation.”
With the January transfer window just around the corner, the Celtic boss now has the chance to bring in his own personnel to match his style. While Wyness believed Nancy tried to change too much, too soon early on, he also believes the board are at fault for the timing of the appointment.
‘The board are to blame’
He continued: “He’s not going to get the backing of the fans at the moment because the fans are dead set against the board and the owners. Peter Lawwell, you know, was there, and we’ll see what happens with the fan base. But Nancy, look, he’s got to, he’s tried to change things too quickly, and he doesn’t understand the Glasgow situation.
“The board are to blame for him being thrown to the wolves at the moment and I think they could’ve handled the transition in a much better way, so they must also take a lot of the blame for this. The fanbase obviously don’t want Celtic to lose, but they know this is putting more pressure on the board in a funny way that’s what they want to do more and more.
“In terms of a title challenge, Celtic are chasing Hearts and it doesn’t look like they’re going to get there at the moment. So we’ll see what happens in the January window. But I don’t expect too much because I think it’s too soon for them to allow Nancy to have a real impact.”