It’s not what the doctor ordered for Celtic and Wilfried Nancy.
Celtic were beaten by Hearts in Nancy’s first game in charge, as the club’s new manager got a taste of what it’s like in the Parkhead dugout for the first time, all in the wrong way.
It was actually a positive start from Celtic, as the home side should have been at least two goals ahead, had it not been for the poor finishing in front of goal, especially from Daizen Maeda.
But Hearts grew into the game, scored in either half, as Celtic’s new formation under Nancy didn’t work, and it’s an opening defeat for the new boss.
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Wilfried Nancy reacts to Celtic’s first game in charge against Hearts
As many can understand, Nancy can’t start throwing verbal pelters straight away, so it’s understandable why he was so positive post-Hearts.
Whilst Celtic’s new coach expressed his frustration with the loss, he told Sky Sports that both of Hearts’ goals came against the run of play, and his team did ‘unbalance’ Derek McInnes’ side at times.
“The result wasn’t what we wanted,” said Nancy. “I think we had a really good first half. We had opportunities to break and also score goals. We could have done better in terms of the last pass and the execution.
“But I liked the way we unbalanced them to create the chances. I think this is something we are going to be able to work on because it was really interesting. We conceded a goal against the momentum. Again, when we watch the game, we can do better to step up the line. I think he could be offside. But we didn’t do it.
“We started the second half well. But we conceded the second goal in transition. After that, when we wanted to come back, I think we put crosses, crosses and crosses. But they are strong inside the box. They had numbers inside the box.
“I think we missed a bit of a connection. A relation, to be able to create a cross or pass. More pass than cross. To get more numbers inside the box. This is something I am going to look at.
“The spirit was spot on. We had really good moments. Obviously, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t easy on the players knowing that I came three days ago, but the mindset was spot on.”
Nancy on his conversation with Callum McGregor
Throughout the second half, the cameras spotted Nancy on his tactic board, moving and shuffling his formation.
On two occasions in the second half, Nancy called over Callum McGregor, and he showed the Celtic skipper his tactics board, before he shared what was said.
“Just to have more players between the lines,” added Nancy. “To attack also on the sides, but also through the middle.
“We had opportunities when we break them in the middle. I think if we are going to keep going forward, it could have been a better, so I wanted to adjust certain things we can. To organise the team, it’s as simple as that.”
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