Wilfried Nancy has lost his first three games in charge of Celtic.
Martin O’Neill, on the other hand, won seven of his eight matches after replacing Brendan Rodgers on an interim basis.
It’s a stark difference given that the pair have been working with the same group of players. Understandably, this has led many to criticise Nancy’s change of system.
But in the media sphere, Chris Sutton has been more sympathetic, saying that calls for Nancy to be sacked after three games were ‘remarkable’.
And speaking ahead of the Hoops’ trip to face Dundee United at Tannadice, Nancy maintained his balanced view.
Michael Nicholson voices support for Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic ‘project’
Chris Sutton on Martin O’Neill and Wilfried Nancy at Celtic
Nancy took to social media on Tuesday night, and it’s fair to say that this backfired.
This was yet more evidence that the Frenchman isn’t quite aware of exactly what he’s walked into at Celtic.
READ MORE: Michael Nicholson calls for patience with Wilfried Nancy ‘project’ in baffling Celtic address
Speaking on Sky Sports’ broadcast of the match, Sutton shares that view, but also doesn’t think that it means that the blame lies solely with him.
“It’s being given enough time, which is why it’s important.
“Because it isn’t just about the result. It’s about getting Celtic fans to buy into what he’s trying to do, and they haven’t been able to.
“Eight goals, they’ve conceded. Roma made them look vulnerable, St Mirren made them look vulnerable.
“But if you look back at the Brendan Rodgers team at the start of the season, and even Martin O’Neill, who did unbelievably well to get seven wins out of eight…
“In many ways, some of those performances were papering over the cracks. I thought it was really telling in his interviews, Martin would come out and say, ‘you just need to win’.
“And he was sort of saying: ‘the performances aren’t quite there’. Martin’s also talked about January; the need for Celtic to invest in the playing squad.
“He’s saying the squad haven’t been good enough, and I think everybody would agree with that, which makes it a really difficult task.
“But this isn’t the USA where soccer is the fourth most important sport. Celtic and Rangers – enormous, enormous institutions.
“You have to know what you’re coming into, but you just wonder whether he’s under-estimated it a little bit.”
Can Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic spell be salvaged by a good transfer window?
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