Wilfried Nancy is taking a lot of heat right now, and rightly so.
Celtic have been beyond woeful under his stewardship, and he is feeling the immense pressure of coaching Scotland’s biggest club.
But Chris Sutton hasn’t forgotten about the Celtic players out on the pitch, who, before Nancy’s arrival, were producing abject performances, and now it has just continued under a new manager to his disgust.
Kasper Schmeichel felt the wrath of supporters following Celtic’s defeat to Rangers on Saturday, but Sutton has also thrown some verbal punches at Auston Trusty.
Name three players you would sell in the current Celtic side
Chris Sutton blasts Kasper Schmeichel and Auston Trusty after Celtic’s defeat to Rangers
Some of the defending on show by Celtic has been laughable. You can criticise Nancy all you want, but some of these players are just embarrassing.
Speaking on Sky Sports Football (03/01/26), Sutton was very annoyed at how Trusty defended the second goal Celtic conceded against Rangers.
That was in the 59th minute to Youssef Chermiti, and Sutton made it clear that he would have dragged Trusty off right at that moment.
But, of course, that wasn’t the only comical moment of the game because Schmeichel, who has been making mistakes all season long, was dubbed ‘out of shape’ by Sutton.
“Defensively, Celtic have shipped goals left, right and centre under Nancy,” said Sutton. “That’s an issue.
“Every time the ball goes into the box, I feel Celtic are going to concede a goal. This isn’t just about Wilfried Nancy. There are players who have been miles off it.
“Schmeichel looks out of shape. He has been poor all season. The third goal is disgraceful.
“Auston Trusty should have taken him off after the second goal. I don’t know what he was thinking. To play for Celtic and to make such a ridiculous decision. To let the centre-forward make a run from the wide left area, and get a shot off against the goalkeeper.”
If Wilfried Nancy was to be sacked, who would you want to become the next Celtic manager?
Who replaces Trusty and Schmeichel?
Going back to last season, there were calls for Schmeichel to be dropped and for Viljami Sinisalo to become Celtic’s number one.
Sinisalo impressed when handed regular starts during Schmeichel’s time on the sidelines last term.
But of course, Brendan Rodgers brought him back; he made a mistake in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen, and he hasn’t stopped gifting the opponents since.
So, dropping Schmeichel and replacing him with Sinisalo is an easy one. No transfer window needed.
But perhaps replacing Trusty, somebody does need to come in via the transfer market.
You do have Liam Scales on the bench, and he has performed better than the American this term.
But let’s be honest, Scales has also divided opinion, and when it comes to the backline, it’s pretty clear that a proper makeover is required, with or without Nancy.
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