{"id":293705,"date":"2025-12-01T21:19:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T21:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/293705\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T21:19:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T21:19:09","slug":"wilfried-nancys-delayed-celtic-start-sparks-no-lose-martin-oneill-dilemma-as-fresh-timeline-pitched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/293705\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilfried Nancy&#8217;s delayed Celtic start sparks &#8216;no-lose&#8217; Martin O&#8217;Neill dilemma as fresh timeline pitched"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Columbus Crew boss is set to step into the hot seat following Wednesday&#8217;s clash with Dundee<\/p>\n<p>19:00, 01 Dec 2025Updated 19:31, 01 Dec 2025<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_GettyImages-2225143111.jpg\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy looks on<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">Mark McGhee reckons it would be beneficial to incoming Celtic manager <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/wilfried-nancy\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wilfried Nancy<\/a> if current interim Martin O\u2019Neill took the team for the League Cup final later this month. O\u2019Neill thought Sunday\u2019s 2-1 win over Hibs would be his last time in the dug-out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">That was before the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/martin-oneill-clamps-stupid-celtic-36334710\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">73-year-old confirmed the paperwork for Columbus Crew gaffer Nancy <\/a>to take over has not yet been completed and he would get a Parkhead send off against Dundee on Wednesday night. But former Hoops striker McGhee think it\u2019s might be a better option for the Frenchman if his start date is delayed until after the Premier Sports Cup Hampden showdown against St Mirren on Sunday, December 14.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">Speaking exclusively to Record Sport he said: \u201dWell, I&#8217;ll tell you what. if I was the new manager coming in, I would think that I would be quite happy for Martin to take the cup final and for me to come in after it because in a sense, therefore, it&#8217;s a no-lose situation. If they win the cup and Martin gets the credit, then fantastic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">\u201cBut you still get the confidence that that brings when you when you come in as the new manager. And if they don&#8217;t win it, then obviously you&#8217;ve not started on the first step of losing a cup final, you know.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">&#8220;If your first game&#8217;s losing a cup final, that&#8217;s kind of gonna taint you a little bit. So I would have thought that, you know, Martin taking the cup final would have been a good thing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">\u201cBut, you know, they obviously thought it through including Martin, and he&#8217;s probably thinking the opposite way. He&#8217;s obviously confident that the team can win the cup and therefore he&#8217;s giving the manager the best possible start he can give him by, you know, the first thing he does is win a cup you know, which if that&#8217;s the way it pans out, I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s ever been done before at <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/celtic-fc\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Celtic<\/a> but it would be a great start for the new manager.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">McGhee, like most of the Celtic supporters doesn\u2019t claim to know much about the new manager, but he expects that the defending champions will retain their crown.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Hibernian-v-Celtic-William-Hill-Premiership-Easter-Road.jpg\" alt=\"Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill waves to the fans \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Celtic interim manager Martin O&#8217;Neill waves to the fans (Image: PA)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">The forward &#8211; who netted 27 goals in 87 games for the club &#8211; hopes Nancy can forge a reputation for himself in Scotland and on the continent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">But he does think it will not will be until next season that Nancy\u2019s influence will be fully realised as he settles into life in Glasgow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">He said: \u201cI don&#8217;t really know a lot about him. As I understand it, he has a bit of a relationship, with the lad Tisdale, you know, who&#8217;s Head of Football Operations obviously he&#8217;s convinced about his pedigree. I don&#8217;t know anything about him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">&#8220;I mean, hopefully a breath of fresh air, you know. He&#8217;s somebody that the punters don&#8217;t really know and if he can really hit the ground running and, breathe a bit of confidence and continue what Martin&#8217;s done there, in these last few weeks, then he can get himself a good start in the club between now and the end of the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">\u201cAnd then they can start to establish again being the dominant force because there&#8217;s no doubt about it that, you know, Hearts and even Rangers, I mean, what are <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/rangers-fc\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rangers <\/a>sitting, third at the moment?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"dailyrecord\">&#8220;You know certainly Hearts have shown that they can challenge a little bit. I still think that Celtic will win the league, I think that between now and the end of the season, the new manager has a chance to establish himself and then really kick on the following season.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Columbus Crew boss is set to step into the hot seat following Wednesday&#8217;s clash with Dundee 19:00,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2817,59,48015,118782,30905,35685,8058,101,56,54,55,106896],"class_list":["post-293705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-celtic-fc","tag-gb","tag-league-cup","tag-mark-mcghee","tag-martin-oneill","tag-premier-sports-cup","tag-scottish-premiership","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wilfried-nancy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}