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See why Ex-Crew manager Wilfried Nancy is under fire at new Celtic job
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- See why Ex-Crew manager Wilfried Nancy is under fire at new Celtic job
Things for ex-Crew manager Wilfried Nancy are not going exactly as planned at his new job with Celtic FC.
Nancy took over for the Scottish club on Dec. 7 after a three-year tenure and a 2023 MLS Cup victory with Columbus. However, the Celtic manager is already breaking unfavorable records; Nancy is the first Celtic manager to start the job by losing four straight matches.
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Additionally, it's the first four-game losing streak for Celtic since 1978. Celtic's most recent 2-1 defeat to Dundee United on Dec. 17 marked Celtics FC's first lost to the club since 2014.
In addition to Nancy's 0-4 head start and Celtic's tumble in the Scottish Premiership table, several instances have raised the ire of Celtic fans.
Ex-Crew manager Wilfried Nancy used a tactics board during first Celtic loss
Nancy received plenty of criticism for using an old-school tactics board in his first loss with Celtic against Hearts Dec 7.
The loss hurt FC Celtic in the Scottish Premiership standings. As of now, Celtic is six points behind Hearts in second place.
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"People have the right to talk," Nancy said in a press conference Dec. 11 . "I'm going to dress one way, maybe they will say they don't like the way I dress. So, I don't waste time on that. If I use it [tactics board], it's because it's good for me, simple as that, and I don't think I am going to use it all the time, but [I'm] not worried."
Nancy continued to speak about how he handles internet criticism.
"I was an assistant coach for seven years, so I worked with many coaches. So I always told myself that when you become a coach, cut everything. So this is what I did," Nancy said. "So, on Twitter, I cut everything, regarding my name, regarding the club, regarding what people say, because they have the right to say something. This is part of the job. That's why we study for that. And after that, I'm not here to comment on everything."
Ex-Crew manager Wilfried Nancy causes irate social media reactions for changing X account profile photo
After stating he wanted to block out the noise of social media, Nancy caused more unrest among Celtic fans when he seemingly changed his profile photo on X to a Venn diagram. The image had "Things that matter" and "Things you can't control" written inside the outer circles and "What you should focus on" labeling the overlap of the circles.
Wilfried Nancy is the first manager to lose four straight games at the start of their tenure with Celtic FC.
Audio from BBC Sportsound features Nancy seemingly confirming he changed his X account profile picture.
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"My wife was not happy and to be honest, believe me or not, the profile was about Columbus, so my ex-picture was about Columbus, me being in the locker room of Columbus, so I just wanted to change what I have on my WhatsApp, simple as that," Nancy said in the audio.
After the new profile picture post, the X account has gone private, which has stirred up reactions on the platform.
Dundee United poked fun at Nancy with a final score graphic after beating Celtic that included a Venn diagram with the final score written in the overlap between the circles.
Ex-Crew manager Wilfried Nancy says he knows Scottish soccer because he almost signed with an English club
Nancy responded to criticism about adjusting to the style of Scottish soccer and his response garnered further frustration. The Frenchman defended himself using his experience of almost signing with the English soccer club Carlisle.
Celtic FC coach Wilfried Nancy has won just three of his past 16 games as a manager, dating back to his time with the Columbus Crew.
"I was close when I was a player to sign with Carlisle," Nancy said in a post-match press conference (via The Scottish Sun ). " I know exactly where I am. It is Scottish football, it is physical. There is a lot of intensity and fight and the referee [doesn't stop play] a lot."
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Fans did not take kindly to the comparison between Scottish soccer and Carlisle.
"This is truly absolutely hilarious," one fan wrote on X in the comments of a post about Nancy's comparison.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: See why Ex-Crew manager Wilfried Nancy is under fire at new Celtic job
