It’s like Ange Postecoglou all over again, but this time with Wilfried Nancy in charge.
Celtic’s legendary coach was disrespected before he walked through the Parkhead doors in 2021, and at the start of his reign, before he shut everybody up by delivering trophies, including the Treble.
Nancy is getting the same treatment following his move from Columbus Crew in the MLS, and Celtic’s defeat to Hearts on Sunday.
Criticism is fine. It’s the hysteria, overreaction and disrespect around it all that is a problem, and Sam Allardyce has just proven that.
Are you concerned by Wilfried Nancy’s post-match comments?
Wilfried Nancy watches on from the touchline during Celtic vs Hearts
Credit: Getty Images/Ian MacNicol
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesSam Allardyce compares Wilfried Nancy to a ‘school teacher’
Nancy’s quotes after Celtic’s loss to Hearts have not just been taken out of context, but they have been verbally slammed from pillar to post.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Podcast, Allardyce reacted to Nancy stating, ‘I am not about losing or winning. It’s about having a good performance.’
The experienced English coach proceeded to disrespect the Frenchman by calling him a ‘school teacher’, and then moaning about ‘sophisticated coaching.’
The point Nancy was trying to make was that he understands winning is the most important, but given that he just walked through the doors, there were positives to take from Celtic’s defeat to Hearts, including how the champions of Scotland should have been 2-0 up inside 20 minutes. Repeat that, and in the long run, the wins will come regularly.
But clearly, others saw it a different way.
Natalie Pike: “Sam, I am just going to look at your face just as I say this quote. Quote after the game from Nancy. ‘I am not about losing or winning. It’s about having a good performance.’”
Allardyce: “Oh God no, sounds like a school teacher. Probably is a school teacher somewhere, you know what I mean.
“My God. What have they done Celtic there? Well, I suppose only time will tell. Martin (O’Neill) is a man-manager. Martin looks at the whole situation, and he manages on and off the field. He’s not really interested in coaching. He will get somebody else in to do that.
“But he knows what he can do. He knows how he can get into people’s psyche. He’s a Brian Clough
“There is hardly any room for them when they talk about ‘the sophisticated coaching.’ Is coaching sophisticated? It’s not really, is it?!”
Allardyce questions Nancy’s appointment at Celtic
It didn’t stop there from Allardyce. He even questioned why Celtic appointed Nancy as their new manager after Martin O’Neill’s successful interim spell.
The modern game has changed. There is more data involved, and it has made life easier for people to process and analyse information.
But, for some odd reason, Allardyce took exception to the modern world moving on from his days by slamming the suggestion that Nancy gave a ‘presentation’ to get the Celtic job.
“On what criteria (did they appoint) Wilfried Nancy?” questioned Allardyce. “How many interviews have they done with him? Or is he one of these new boys who come with a great big glowing presentation?
“If the owners of the football club don’t look further than the laptop. They are so out of order. I was going to say something stronger than that, but I won’t. Because it’s stupid. There, I have said it.
“If you don’t look beyond a laptop. It’s stupid picking a manager.”
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox