Inside Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew backroom staff who could follow him to Celtic

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Wilfried Nancy is moving closer to becoming Celtic’s new manager.

Initially a left-field candidate, it is now being reported that Nancy is on the brink of the job, with his season over at Columbus Crew in MLS.

Martin O’Neill has been in temporary charge of the team for the last few weeks with Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus alongside him.

These were the men who stepped up when Brendan Rodgers, John Kennedy, Adam Sadler and Glen Driscoll suddenly left the club after a 3-1 defeat to Hearts.

So who would be likely to come along with Nancy to Glasgow? We looked at the individuals who have been alongside him in his success at Columbus.

Celtic target Wilfried Nancy’s backroom staff at Columbus Crew

There have been calls for Celtic to modernise their structure for years. The likes of Mark Lawwell and Nick Hammond have come and gone.

Like in other American sports, MLS clubs tend to employ vast backroom teams with a huge emphasis on analysis and sports science.

READ MORE: Chris Sutton sets the record straight on Celtic’s ‘gamble’ on Wilfried Nancy

Nancy’s assistant manager is the main reason he was on Celtic’s radar in the first place. Kwame Ampadu worked with Paul Tisdale at Exeter before linking up with Thierry Henry.

He was in the same coaching team as Nancy under Henry at Montreal, and remained an assistant when the 48-year-old was promoted to the main job. Aged 54, Ampadu is experienced for an assistant – his son Ethan plays for Leeds and Wales.

Ampadu would almost certainly follow Nancy to Celtic given his connections to Tisdale.

Also assisting Nancy in Columbus is highly-rated Frenchman Yoann Damet, who has been coaching since his early 20s. Aged 35, he was plucked from LA Galaxy having previously crossed paths with Nancy in Montreal.

Celtic don’t have a technical director, though Tisdale’s role could be its own version of this. The holder of this position at Columbus, Marc Nicholls, has over two decades of experience in various roles in US football.

Perhaps more likely to follow Nancy would be their general manager, Issa Tall, another Frenchman. Given how well-paid GMs are in the US, this wouldn’t be straightforward.

Columbus’ head of analytics, Alex Mysiw, has developed a strong reputation which has led to several Hoops fans already demanding that the club bring him along with Nancy.

Given that Celtic posted a job advert for a data analyst just a few weeks ago, Mysiw could fit that role perfectly.

Will Wilfried Nancy keep Celtic’s current backroom staff?

Hoops fans will remember Ange Postecoglou insisting on bringing none of his own staff when he joined the Hoops in 2021. Could Nancy do the same?

In truth, probably not. Cases like Postecoglou’s are increasingly rare in today’s game – but Nancy would be daft not to tap into knowledge of at least one of the club’s interim coaches.

Maloney has said that he expects to move back into his role as Player Pathways Manager once a new manager arrives, whilst Fotheringham has been linked to the manager’s job at Norwich City.

Whether McManus will return to his role as B team manager remains unclear – but it would be a surprise if Nancy didn’t keep at least one of the current coaches on.