Match

Derek McInnes made surprising pre-match admission about Celtic’s starting XI vs Hearts

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Everyone was keen to see what Wilfried Nancy would do in his first game as the Celtic manager.

Many predicted the starting XI to maintain a 4-2-3-1 formation due to the little time the Frenchman has had on the pitch.

But, Nancy opted for his trusted 3-4-3 against Hearts, deploying Sebastian Tounekti and Hyunjun Yang in the wing back slots.

Derek McInnes has had to work hard to figure out his tactics to try and stop the Hoops, and before the game, revealed his reaction to seeing the new-look Celtic.

Nancy is making big changes already…are they the right ones? 👀

The new Celtic manager has gone with a new formation in his first game in charge at Parkhead against Hearts.

Celtic Unveil New Manager Wilfried Nancy
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Hearts manager not surprised by Celtic’s change of formation

It may be new territory for Celtic players and fans, but for the Hearts boss, it sounds like he has been planning ahead all along.

In his pre-match interview with BBC Sportsound, the Jambos manager revealed that he had been watching clips of Nancy’s old job at Columbus Crew, and the system of how he works.

He said: “There’s a game here, there’s an opportunity for three points. It’s a different test.

Heart of Midlothian manager Derek McInnes during the Premier League match between Rangers and Heart of Midlothian at Ibrox Stadium
Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images

“Coming to Celtic Park in recent seasons is always the toughest test for any team. It’s a very attack-minded Celtic team that’s come in, we kind of anticipated that – playing wingers as wing-backs, playing outside centre-backs as full-backs.

“We’ve studied a lot of Columbus Crew’s games over the last few days. They fill the middle of the pitch and Celtic are blessed with a lot of good players in these areas. When you see the team line come, it wasn’t really any surprise to us.”