The appointment of Wilfried Nancy as the new Celtic manager brings in a new era at the club.
In an unusual step, Celtic announced Nancy less than one hour before Martin O’Neill took his last game in charge at the club.
As O’Neill prepared his final team talk at Celtic, the Parkhead executives were ready to publish their thoughts about the hiring of Nancy.
And in doing so, Dermot Desmond thanked Martin O’Neill for his service but not before Michael Nicholson broke his silence on the newly appointed Celtic manager.
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Michael Nicholson admits Wilfried Nancy was Celtic’s ‘number one candidate’
Celtic supporters don’t often hear much from Nicholson but the CEO broke his silence to tell the fans that Wilfried Nancy was always the club’s number one choice.
Nicholson told Celtic’s official website, “We have been aware of Wilfried and his quality of work for some time – he was our number one candidate when we began the process of appointing a new Manager and we are delighted that he as agreed to join the club.
In one word, how do you feel about Wilfried Nancy’s appointment
“I know he is hugely excited about this opportunity to be part of Celtic’s future. We will give Wilfried every support to face the challenges ahead, with our aim as always being to deliver the success for the club which our supporters deserve, this season and beyond.
“I also want to thank Martin, Shaun, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus for all they have done in recent weeks. They have shown such high levels of professionalism and commitment in supporting the club in a difficult moment and we will forever be grateful to them for the fantastic contributions they have all made.”
Dermot Desmond thanks Martin O’Neill as Celtic executive welcomes Nancy
Dermot Desmond released his own statement as he talked up Nancy and offered his ‘heartfelt thanks’ to the outgoing Celtic legend Martin O’Neill.
Desmond added, “In appointing Wilfried to Celtic, we believe we have brought a hugely talented Manager to the club. He is a man who absolutely understands the demands at Celtic, he is a man of real humility but also someone with his own ideas, his own vision and such a personal drive and desire to do well for the club and our supporters.
“Everyone at the club will unite strongly behind Wilfried as we move forward and we will ensure we will give him our unswerving support as we strive to achieve our objectives.
“I want to add my heartfelt thanks to Martin for all he has done in recent weeks. He was the man we hoped could bring us through these last few weeks positively and together with Shaun and our other coaches and our players, they have done a wonderful job.
“I will always hold Martin in such high regard for what he has done for Celtic and for what he is as a man – a man of such professionalism and integrity and someone who undoubtedly will always have the best interests of Celtic in his heart.”
Nancy has a very interesting run of fixtures as he settles into Celtic with Hearts up as the Frenchman’s first game.
With the games coming thick and fast, Nancy will learn quickly what being the Celtic manager is all about with the Europa League and League Cup final to come as well.
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