The Wilfried Nancy era at Celtic begins with a morale-sapping defeat.
Regardless of whether Celtic’s new manager starts against a title contender or a team battling relegation, there will always be immense pressure on his debut game, and it was no different for Nancy on Sunday.
Celtic were beaten 2-1 by Hearts, who now have a three-point lead at the top of the Premiership table, but the Hoops have a game in hand.
There is already a lot of noise around Nancy, but Scott Brown wanted to calm the waters after the match.
- READ MORE: Chris Sutton questions Wilfried Nancy’s trust towards Martin O’Neill after Celtic lose to Hearts
How would you rate the players’ performances?
Scott Brown’s reaction to Celtic’s defeat to Hearts
Before a ball was kicked, there was a lot of talk around how Nancy would have very little time to spend with the players on the training pitch and express how he wanted to play.
Speaking to Sky Sports Football (07/12/25), Brown reiterated that message once again and how Celtic’s new coach has only been with the lads for ‘three days.’
Celtic’s former captain made it clear to critics, ‘let’s not get too carried away’, because he feels there is still a lot more to come from the champions of Scotland.
“It’s the manager’s third day in a job,” said Brown. “Let’s not get too carried away with the performance levels and stuff. There was going to be a lot more to come. His style and his shape.
“Also, what he wants and how the lads are going to take it on is going to be a huge thing, because you could see he was out with the tactics board trying to explain as much as he possibly could to the lads.
“It happens in training naturally, where once he gets a Saturday-to-Saturday game, he is going to have a lot of time to coach a player.
“This week is going to be horrible for him because it’s literally three games in one week.”
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…
When will Celtic next get a midweek break?
The one issue for Nancy is that he isn’t going to get much time to breathe and time on the training ground because of Celtic’s heavy schedule.
Whether Nancy was here or not, this was always going to be one of the biggest weeks of the campaign because it’s a showdown against the league leaders, a home Europa League tie against AS Roma, and then the League Cup final against St Mirren.
- Vs AS Roma (H), Europa League, Thursday, December 11
- Vs St Mirren (N), League Cup Final, Sunday, December 14
- Vs Dundee United (A), Premiership, Wednesday, December 17
- Vs Aberdeen, (H), Premiership, Sunday, December 21
- Vs Livingston (A), Premiership, Saturday, December 27
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