It was always a risk for Celtic to start in this way under Wilfried Nancy.
Not only had Martin O’Neill won seven out of his eight interim games in charge, but there was also little time for Nancy to express what he wanted his Celtic players to do.
That proved to be costly because Celtic were beaten by Hearts, in a performance that got worse as the game went on, and proof that Nancy has a lot of work to do.
Before the start of the game, all the talk was around whether Celtic’s new manager would play his 3-4-3 formation, and he went straight into the deep end.
- READ MORE: Celtic hero Chris Sutton is ‘annoyed’ at ‘disingenuous’ snipes he’s hearing about Martin O’Neill
What’s the one thing you’d tell Wilfried Nancy he needs to change after Hearts defeat?
Big improvements are needed ahead of the game against AS Roma…
Chris Sutton says Wilfried Nancy didn’t trust Martin O’Neill’s way as Celtic lose to Hearts
Chris Sutton stated on social media that Nancy didn’t trust ‘the Martin O’Neill team and way’, and it proved to be costly.
The former striker explained how Derek McInnes’ side, who have a three-point lead over the champions of Scotland in the Premiership table, were ‘too streetwise’ for the Hoops.
“Wilfried Nancy took a risk not playing or trusting the Martin O’Neill team and way,” stated Sutton.
“Hearts were too streetwise for Celtic. Bottom line is Celtic haven’t been good enough in the final third all season… January is huge…”
What areas do Celtic need to strengthen in January?
The January transfer window was huge before Nancy arrived, and it’s even bigger now because there are clear issues across the pitch.
Everyone is aware of the broken relationship between the Celtic board and fans, so they are under immense pressure to deliver the goods and back their manager.
But what areas of the pitch are the most important? Let’s rank them.
- Right winger
- Striker
- Right-sided centre-back
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