13 hours ago
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The most fleeting occupant of the Celtic manager's job in the club's storied history lasted eight months. Wilfried Nancy has only been in charge for 14 days.
Fourteen days, four defeats - one a cup final, another a top-of-the-table clash - several alarmingly naive comments, the ridiculed use of a tactics board, and an eye-popping social media post.
Already, some are asking if the Frenchman's time is up.
After his side threw away a lead at Tannadice - the first they'd had since Nancy replaced Martin O'Neill - the boisterous away support bellowed their fury at the board - standard practice - but also at their beleaguered new boss.
"When a full fanbase turns against a manager, that's the end. And I don't think we're too far away from that," said former Celtic striker Chris Sutton on Sky Sports.
"Where do Celtic go from here? Where does Wilfried Nancy go from here? The Celtic fans aren't going to accept this. The Celtic hierarchy have a bit of thinking to do.
"Let's not make out this is a good team. It's bang average and with key players missing, January's going to be key.
"They need to win the league but at this moment in time they are looking like a third-place team. Absolutely woeful. Sunday is going to be really interesting."
Sunday is the visit of Aberdeen. Nancy's fifth game in charge. And his fifth attempt to avoid defeat. A defeat that would be Celtic's 16th in all competitions in 2025. For context, they lost just two in 2024.
Nancy is only responsible for part of that, but what is on him is the fact he is the first Celtic manager to have lost four games in a row since Jock Stein 47 years ago.
"In the three domestic games under Nancy, Celtic have played really well in the first half," said former Scotland forward James McFadden on Sky Sports.
"However, the drop off in fluidity, energy and threat posed from the first half to the second is unbelievable.
"There is no control in games, they can't up the tempo. When the subs come on, players are all over the place. You just have a bunch of players who don't really know what they're doing."
Defeat means Celtic remain six points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts - albeit with a game in hand - but Nancy has urged the fans to "keep faith".
His side seemed to have responded positively to Sunday's League Cup final defeat by St Mirren with a dominant first-half display, gilded with Daizen Maeda's goal.
However, Celtic missed a succession of chances and could not quell a revived United after the break, with stunning strikes from Krisztian Keresztes and Zac Sapsford turning the game in the struggling hosts' favour.
It ended eighth-placed United's seven-game winless run and their 11-year, 24-match wait for a win over Celtic.
"We lost the game in three minutes - two set-pieces that we conceded," Nancy told BBC Scotland. "Maybe the second one was offside before the corner.
"I think we did a good job - I think we had a good performance with all the opportunities we had in the first half. If we score the two or three tap ins we had, it would have been a different score."
Nancy said he recognises that the ongoing turmoil is "difficult" for the Celtic fans, but the 48-year-old is adamant that he can see improvements.
"I can understand," he said. "I am a human being and disappointed and the connection with the fans is important for me. But we had clear chances and we have to work on certain things."
Asked if he regretted changing a system that proved succesful for interim manager Martin O'Neill - who won seven of his eight games in charge - Nancy added: "Martin plays a certain way and I want to see something that can win games for the future.
"At the moment, it is not that, but I can see we are improving. We've lost four games in a row, but today we were close to winning the game.
"It's the direction we have to keep going in, and we have to be stronger to avoid conceding these kinds of goals."
Eric: This isn't just Wilfried Nancy's fault, although he's not helping. This is a team of players who are simply not good enough without exception, and that lies with the board, so all in all, the chickens come home to roost.
Joseph: I do think that the Celtic board made the wrong choice of new manager, but the players are losing because of tactics that are lost on them. Regretfully, the manager must go.
Ian: I'll say it again, the man is out of his depth. MLS is a Sunday league, his tactics are the issue here. Whoever appointed this guy, redeem your position, and get him out now, before he does any more damage!
Kevin: Nancy has lost the dressing room. No way back. He must go now. Bring back O'Neill for the rest of the season and talk stock. The board must accept they messed up and move on.
Hugh: How can the players be blamed when they haven't a clue what the manager is trying to do? The same players won seven out of eight and would do again with Martin O'Neill at the helm.
George: Listening to Wilfred Nancy is depressing. How is this an improvement?! Sad to see this happening to Celtic, embarrassing.
