Martin O’Neill urges Celtic fans to remain patient with struggling Wilfried Nancy
Wilfried Nancy has lost all three of his games in charge
Martin O’Neill has told Celtic fans to be patient with new boss Wilfried Nancy.
Nancy succeeded the Irishman in the role with O’Neill returning for an interim spell following the acrimonious departure of Brendan Rodgers in October.
O’Neill won seven of his eight games in charge at Parkhead, seemingly paving the way for Nancy to make a flying start to his tenure.
It has not panned out that way, though, with Celtic losing all three of the Frenchman’s games in charge, against Hearts, Roma and, most shockingly, St Mirren in yesterday’s League Cup final at Hampden.
Some fans have already called for Nancy to be sacked but O’Neill insists he needs more time.
He told talkSPORT: “You’ve got to give managers chances. I think back to my own time at Leicester City, where I eventually enjoyed nice success. Can’t win a game to save my life, crowd baying for blood after 10 games. How lucky I was to win a couple of matches of real importance at that stage.
“You’ve just got to win, you’ve got to win. You’ve got to steady it again. There’s some excellent players at the football club. There’s some boys who have won big time as well. Lean on some of the senior players. Lean on them and get them on your side.
“It is recoverable, of course. You’re in the football club 10 or 12 days.
“You cannot make a judgement on anybody over three games. The matches were difficult. You have got to give a manager some time.”
Table of Contents
I would have remained at Celtic – O’Neill
O’Neill admitted he would have remained in the role if asked to do so.
He added: “If they had asked me to stay on, I would’ve done so, but the minute that they said, ‘no, that’s your time’, that’s fine by me.
“I stepped into the job, [major shareholder] Dermot [Desmond] had said to me, ‘you could be in it two weeks or two months, we’re looking for someone’.
“When you get into it, you really enjoy it. You enjoy winning, that’s the point – this is what it’s about.”
The 73-year-old even admitted the short-term gig had whetted his appetite for a full-time return to management.
“I would have to say absolutely,” he said.
“I’ve never lost the appetite for the game, I’ve certainly not lost enthusiasm and I’ve got energy to burn.”
What has Nancy said?
Speaking after the St Mirren upset, former Columbus Crew boss Nancy conceded he understood why Celtic fans were questioning his credentials.
He told BBC Scotland: “It’s totally normal [the fans] are questioning me but I think I showed them that we can do better, I showed them the direction I want to go.
“This is part of the job. I know where we are now, I know where we want to go and I really believe we’re going to be able to click and move forward.
“It’s not the fans’ job to be patient but I tell them I am still working and I know what we want to do. I am strong. We are judged on results, I know my job regarding that. I try to go beyond the results and beyond winning. We have to win to give confidence, to buy time, I know that but I am going beyond that.”