The Hoops slumped to an 3-0 defeat against Italian giants Roma in Nancy’s first European game in charge of the club
Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy
Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy insists he is “not concerned” that his message to the players isn’t getting through after defeat to Roma. And that sparked major concern from a trio of Parkhead heroes.
It was a disappointing night for Celtic as they slumped to a 3-0 Europa League defeat to the Italian giants. The display means that Nancy is the first Hoops’ boss to lose both of his first two games after the loss to table-topping Hearts on Sunday – with the Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren just around the corner.
But the meek showing by the Scottish champions failed to move the Frenchman as he stood by his football philosophy – after switching to a 3-4-3 system since his arrival. Asked by TNT Sports about the message not breaking through to the team, he responded: “They tried, I cannot tell you they didn’t try. But we should have been able to connect a little bit more, but we didn’t.
“So again, this is the situation. I am not concerned, because I really liked the reaction and this is the most important. They deserved to score at least one goal and to see if the reaction changed.
Pressed on the fans being “concerned” already with the performance levels, he said: “I saw already good things. The result is not what we want for sure, but today I saw good things. I would like the results to change today, we play to win games, but the reality is this is not the situation.
“At this moment it is a bit difficult. I believe my players deserved a little bit more (from the game), to score goals, but for the moment this is the reality.
“We need to rest and prepare for the final, because this was not easy to prepare for the game – a week where we have the final, and have many games. But, this is the way it is. My belief in the players is really strong.”
After boos rang out at half-time and full-time, the gaffer added: “I respect the fans. They are really important for us, this is the key. They know that we play for them, so this is key.
“They are not happy with the situation, and they showed this. I know where we are going. This result is not what we want, but I see a lot of good things, and yes, patience is something important. But I know patience is difficult in football. I believe in what we do, and I believe that shortly things will go in our way.”
Johan Mjallby, Stan Petrov and Emma Dodds on TNT Sport
Stiliyan Petrov was quickly asked about the boss being happy with the levels of the players on punditry duties following the interview. He said: “I’m not. I don’t think the supporters are either. I said I feel sorry for the manager because his back is to the wall already, after only a week at the club – two games – and he can’t give you an answer because right now he doesn’t have that answer.
“But he has to find it very quickly, because in a few days he has a really big game. Saying he is not concerned, is a huge concern.”
Johan Mjällby chimed in: “He needs to have a lot of team talks and as much time on the training pitch. Hopefully he is going to find the answers, because time is running out – not for his job, but for Celtic to not win the title and be behind in the league race.”
Former goalkeeper Joe Hart added: “I think he needs to understand who and what St Mirren are and take them really, really seriously. He needs to get his team ready for a battle. It is not a about systems right now, it’s about representing a big football club.”