Celtic are accelerating their managerial search.
Wilfried Nancy is seemingly the chosen one, as Dermot Desmond looks to land his top target to replace Brendan Rodgers.
Martin O’Neill has been in temporary charge of the first team for the last three weeks, but has insisted that he does not expect to become the main man permanently.
Instead, it looks like Nancy will be taking the reins at Celtic. A relatively unknown quantity coming from MLS, the Columbus Crew boss has a reputation for playing a unique, possession-based brand of football.
But it isn’t all about being fancy, and he revealed a very different side to his tactics in his season review press conference.
Celtic-bound Wilfried Nancy on trying to get Cincinnati players sent off
One of many unique things about MLS is that it operates a play-off system reminiscent of other American sports.
The ‘Supporters Shield’ is given to the team that finishes the regular season at the top of the table, but the play-offs decide the winner of the MLS Cup.
READ MORE: Chris Sutton sets the record straight on Celtic’s ‘gamble’ on Wilfried Nancy
In the 2025 season, Columbus were made to face local rivals Cincinnati in the first round of the play-offs which are played across a ‘best of three’ format.
After losing the first match 1-0 away, Nancy’s side responded with a resounding 4-0 win at home – but aggregate scores are irrelevant, so this win simply set up a decider, which Columbus lost 2-1.
Speaking at his end-of-season press conference, the 48-year-old was remarkably honest enough to admit the dark arts he encouraged his players to use in the later stages of the second match, with the win already secured.
He said: “We were winning 3-0, or something like that.
“We are like players. When we do an exercise, we sometimes like to find ways to twist the rules, you know?
“We were finding a way to get a red card to the best players of [Cincinnati]. Because they have nothing to lose.
“They had lost already. So, can we find a way to get a red card to Brenner or other players? At the end of the day, this [format] is not coherent.”
Nancy is an outspoken critic of the play-off format, as well as the MLS’ winter-to-winter season calendar.
Wilfried Nancy’s achievements at Columbus Crew
Nancy won the MLS Cup in his first season at Columbus, taking a widely unfancied team to the promised land where they defeated LAFC in the play-off final.
The following season, they embarked on a run to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, defeating several Mexican giants in the process. He delivered his second trophy in the Leagues Cup that summer.
Domestically, Columbus finished second in the regular season, behind only Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. Nancy was named MLS Coach of the Year.
This year, things were less straightforward for Nancy and his team amid injury issues and player turnover, as they finished 12th in the regular season.
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