Theory on Wilfried Nancy’s backroom staff at Celtic raised by Frank McAvennie

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Celtic are still seemingly waiting for Wilfried Nancy.

The Columbus Crew boss is reportedly in advanced talks with the Hoops’ hierarchy, as the preferred replacement for Brendan Rodgers.

Martin O’Neill is in the dugout in the meantime, with a Celtic statement confirming that he and his backroom staff are remaining in their positions until an appointment is complete.

Everyone is guessing at the minute, with some suspecting that the statement bodes badly for Nancy, and that talks might have hit a stumbling block. Reports haven’t supported this view, however.

Backroom staff could well be one of the hurdles to the deal – but Frank McAvennie thinks that Nancy will be facing an ultimatum over this.

Frank McAvennie on Wilfried Nancy’s backroom staff at Celtic

Nancy’s backroom staff are a big part of the reason why he was on Celtic’s radar in the first place.

Kwame Ampadu, his assistant manager at Columbus Crew, knows the Hoops’ Head of Football Operations Paul Tisdale from working with him at Exeter City.

READ MORE: Wilfried Nancy ‘planning for next season’ at Columbus Crew as Celtic reports contradicted

McAvennie, speaking on his Let Me Be Frank Podcast, thinks that he’ll be made to work with the current assistants however, judging from what he has heard.

He said: “Whoever comes in, back them. I’ll back them and give them a chance.

“First of all, you’ve got to thank Martin [O’Neill] and Shaun [Maloney]. I think Shaun will be hanging about – and I might be wrong – but I think the backroom staff will be the backroom staff at this point.

Host Simon Houston then said: “That’s an interesting point, because apparently what he said is that he’s open to having local assistants.”

McAvennie replied: “Which means that he’s been told, you’re not coming, you can bring one, maybe’. But it’s the same as Ange.

“Ange came in, and John Kennedy was there, and he said, ‘yeah, I’ll use him’.

“At the end of the day, it’s the manager’s decision. Eddie Howe never came, because he couldn’t bring his own backroom staff. That’s his decision.”

Wilfried Nancy’s backroom staff vs Celtic’s

Reports in Scotland have claimed that Ampadu would ‘almost certainly’ follow Nancy to Celtic, but highly-rated fellow coach Yoann Damet, an involvement in the deal is less clear.

Nancy also works closely with his Head of Analytics Alex Mysiw, and his Technical Director, Marc Nicholls. He is part of a well-oiled machine.

Celtic’s coaching staff was recently decimated by Rodgers’ departure, with John Kennedy, Adam Sadler and Glen Driscoll all following him out of the door.

Along with Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus also make up the current interim staff – whether Nancy would keep any of them on board remains to be seen.