Wolves loanee to miss key Rangers matches as 'huge thing' could prove key to Wilfried Nancy Celtic success
The latest stories from both sides of the Old Firm after an eventful weekend.
A Rangers star is set to miss a chunk of festive fixtures, while Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy has been told not to panic after their defeat to Hearts.
Rangers got back to winning ways on Saturday night, with a 3-0 win at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock. It was a comfortable evening for Danny Rohl, as a Bojan Miovski brace and Mikey Moore strike had them sail through to victory in Ayrshire. With the fixtures coming thick and fast between now and January, The Light Blues are set to be without a player who has started the last nine matches, due to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Wilfried Nancy had a disappointing start to his first match in the Celtic Park dugout, as The Hoops missed out on a chance to go top of the table, losing 2-1 to Hearts. Despite the hosts being in the ascendancy for much of the first half, a Claudio Braga strike and Oisin McEntee header gave The Jambos a two-goal advantage. Kieran Tierney got a goal back in the dying minutes, but Celtic had no time to find an equaliser. Despite the result, a Celtic icon has told Nancy not to ‘panic’, as they prepare for a huge week.
Djiga to miss key fixtures through AFCON
Nasser Djiga may have had an inconsistent start to his Rangers career since signing on loan from Wolves in the summer, however with the current injury worries at the heart of the defence he has became a mainstay for Rohl.
Despite this, Rangers will have to be without their Burkina Faso International, after he was called up to their AFCON squad, as they prepare to face Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan in Group E. Rangers will be without the defender for matches against Hearts away, Motherwell and St Mirren home and Celtic away, which take place during the group stage and preparation period.
If Burkina Faso were to progress to the knockout stage, Djiga could miss the back-to-back January showdowns with Aberdeen. However, he should be back for Rangers’ Europa League tie against Ludogorets on January 22, with the AFCON final taking place four days earlier.
Nancy told of ‘huge thing’ that could determine Celtic fate
After the Hearts loss, former Celtic captain Scott Brown claimed that the reaction from the new gaffer is paramount to his Celtic future. Speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports, he said: “Let’s not get too carried away, it’s the manager’s third day in a job.
“Also, what he wants and how the lads are going to take it on is going to be a huge thing, because you could see he was out with the tactics board trying to explain as much as he possibly could to the lads. It happens in training naturally, where once he gets a Saturday-to-Saturday game, he is going to have a lot of time to coach a player. This week is going to be horrible for him because it’s literally three games in one week.”
Celtic will host Roma on Thursday night in the Europa League as they attempt to climb up the table towards the business end of the league phase. After that, they face St Mirren at Hampden on Sunday in the League Cup final, giving them their first opportunity of silverware this season.