One thing you can’t deny, the Celtic fans have been entertained this season.
The unfortunate part of it all is the fact that most of it has been for all the wrong reasons, and it doesn’t feel like it will change any time soon.
There is never a dull day at Celtic, and on Tuesday, Wilfried Nancy held his latest press conference ahead of the Hoops’ clash against Dundee United.
Yes, Celtic losing Nancy’s three games in charge isn’t helping anyone’s cause, but nor are his comments to the media, as Peter Grant explained.
- READ MORE: Dundee United’s Jim Goodwin stunned by Wilfried Nancy’s actions towards Celtic’s Sebastian Tounekti
Sum up Wilfried Nancy’s media handling in one word…
Peter Grant calls out Wilfried Nancy, questioning the Celtic players
A lot of talk has been around Nancy’s system, why did he change it from Martin O’Neill, should he simplify it, and should he adapt, etc.?
But ahead of Celtic’s trip to Tannadice, Nancy questioned the ‘desire’ of his players, and it’s something that doesn’t sit right with Grant.
Speaking on Go Radio, Grant suggested that such words won’t go down well in the dressing room, and he would have ‘kicked off the hinges’ of Nancy’s door by now.
Grant wanted to remind Celtic’s new boss that he has a lot of winners in the dressing room, and quite a lot of them have won by not playing well and digging in.
“I wouldn’t like to be in that dressing room if he questioned my desire to compete,” said Grant. “That was the one thing.
“You could say I played poorly, or whatever. But whoever questions my desire to compete, or that I didn’t work hard enough, or that I didn’t care enough.
“Ask the great Tommy Burns. How many times I stood toe-to-toe with him? If he were crucifying the team and wasn’t naming individuals. He would say, ‘as a team.’ I would say, ‘name us’, because you better not name me.
“If I were in that dressing room and the manager threw that at me, his door would be kicked off the hinges, for sure. I don’t care.
“That would be a big concern for me. If he were asking about a desire to compete. Remember, there are a lot of winners in that dressing room who have won things, and they have won things when they haven’t played well because they have dug in.”
Does Wilfried Nancy have the belief of the Celtic players?
Celtic players ‘don’t understand’ Nancy’s system
Another game, and Nancy is still searching for his first win. Once again, he hasn’t had much time to prepare following Sunday’s horror show.
You wonder what Nancy will change, or whether it will be the same old thing. Either way, he has to win because nothing else would be accepted.
When Grant shared his thoughts on Nancy’s system, he made it clear that the players simply ‘don’t understand’ what to do.
“Systems are different,” added Grant. “Talk systems. I saw it on Sunday again.
“Celtic, at times, had one at the back. Two at the back. They had three at the back. Systems don’t matter. It’s within the system, do players understand?
“At this moment in time, the manager knows what he wants, and he knows the areas of the pitch what they should be doing. The players don’t understand that yet.
“He said it last week. I thought he maybe tripped himself up a little bit, because he was saying, ‘You need a pre-season to implement it.’ But then, you are trying to throw it in after one game. Or after one day, and it was against Hearts, the league leaders.
“So, there are times and things to use it. I can understand managers when they want to change and make things happen as quickly as possible. I understand that. But you’re not going to be stupid either.”
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