Celtic can sack Nancy by hiring a manager who’s top of the league in England
Celtic have entered the January transfer window in a position that they may not have expected to be in when the season kicked off in August.
The Hoops are three points behind Hearts in the Scottish Premiership title race, they lost the final of the League Cup to St Mirren, and they have lost five of their last seven matches in all competitions.
Motherwell beat them 2-0 in the Premiership on Tuesday night in what was another dismal showing from Celtic under Wilfried Nancy, whose future has already been called into question.
Why Celtic should sack Wilfried Nancy
Journalist Stephen McGowan described Celtic as “dysfunctional” and stated that the French head coach is in “can’t survive this territory”, such was the disappointing nature of the performance against Motherwell.
Fan account Everything Celtic on X, meanwhile, stated that the former MLS boss “has to go”. Reporter Barry Anderson also claimed that the manager is making a “mess” of his time at Parkhead so far.
It feels harsh to be calling for a manager to go after just seven games in the dugout, but something is clearly not working out for Nancy in Glasgow, as has been pointed out by several journalists and supporters after that loss to Motherwell.
First 7 games of recent Celtic managers
Manager
Losses
Goals conceded
Wilfried Nancy
5
15
Brendan Rodgers
2
6
Ange Postecoglou
2
8
Neil Lennon
0
2
Brendan Rodgers
1
6
Ronny Deila
1
6
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, his start to life at the club has been a disaster in comparison to all of his peers at Parkhead in the last decade or so.
He became the first manager in Celtic’s history to lose his first four matches in charge of the club, but then looked to have turned a bit of a corner with successive wins, only to lose again on Tuesday.
The best course of action, therefore, may be for the board to ruthlessly part ways with the former Columbus Crew manager, and to bring in a new head coach.
The manager Celtic should replace Wilfried Nancy with
After Brendan Rodgers resigned and Martin O’Neill took the job as an interim, plenty of names were linked as possible options for the club to bring in.
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One of those names was Cardiff City boss Brian Barry-Murphy. It was even reported that the board had held internal discussions about a move for the League One gaffer, only to end up going for Nancy instead.
The work that he has done with the Bluebirds in England, however, suggests that he may have been a better option than the Frenchman, which is why they should ruthlessly sack Nancy to reignite their interest in the Irish coach.
Appointing a manager from the third tier in England may not be an incredibly attractive proposition, but it is worth remembering that it is the league from which a talent like Matt O’Riley was directly signed from, so there is quality that can come from that level.
Barry-Murphy may not be a promising young player like O’Riley was, but he is a promising young head coach who has done an impressive job with Cardiff this season.
25/26 League One
Cardiff
Club rank
Wins
15
1st
Points
47
1st
Goals
40
2nd
Goals conceded
23
5th
Goal difference
+17
1st
Stats via FBref
As you can see in the table above, the 47-year-old tactician’s team sit at the top of League One this season, after they were relegated in last place in the Championship under the previous management group.
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EFL expert and writer Gab Sutton claimed that he “transformed the style” at Cardiff, and Barry-Murphy has made it clear that his aggressive and front-footed style will not change because of the opposition.
Cardiff went on to beat Burnley, a Premier League side, away from home and had 53% of the ball in that match after those quotes, which shows that he can implement a successful, dominant, and attractive style of play even against teams that are significantly better on paper.
Therefore, Barry-Murphy could be the dream replacement for Nancy because he has shown that he has a philosophy and a style of play, but it is one that is built on aggression and tangible success, rather than good performances and losses.
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That is why Celtic should seriously consider parting ways with Nancy already to make a move for the 4-3-3 Cardiff boss, who is currently on course to win a title with the English side.