Celtic’s miserable run of defeats under Wilfried Nancy is barely believable.
After we seemingly hit a low point after the Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren, things have managed to get even worse.
Nancy’s side played well in the first half against Dundee United, but like what happened at Hampden, the team folded after half-time.
Unable to cope with the hosts’ aggression at Tannadice, Celtic conceded two goals in three minutes, and were unable to escape defeat in the end.
And having worked with Jim Goodwin as a pundit just days before the Tannadice clash, Charlie Mulgrew has given some insight into his game plan.
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Charlie Mulgrew on Jim Goodwin and Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic
Celtic have struggled for goals all season, and some of the woeful finishing on display at Tannadice spoke for itself.
But equally concerning is how easily they have conceded goals since Nancy’s arrival.
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And on the Go Radio Football Show, Mulgrew discussed the ‘mental’ decisions Nancy made on Wednesday – and how Goodwin exposed them.
He said: “I feel sorry for the guy when I watch him. I said that when St Mirren scored early on Sunday.
“But I told you the feeling last week. I just got the feeling that I couldn’t see how he would pick a result up.
“I must admit, I watched the game [on Wednesday] – first half, I was really surprised at how well Celtic played. They were really, really good. Had loads of chances, could’ve been three or four nil up at half time.
“I always knew that, especially with that hill at Tannadice, I knew Jim Goodwin – having spoke to him at the game on Sunday, we spoke about a couple of things – I had a feeling he would just go after Celtic.
“Because I knew he would potentially think they were there for the taking. And sure enough, he went man-for-man, pressed them really high, like Roma done.
“Forced them to play long, and it just doesn’t suit Celtic. And, I think it’s mental that Celtic played with one centre half against a team in Scotland.
“I mean, we saw Pep Guardiola when he first came to Britain; he realised quickly that you have to have big players in your team. He had four centre-backs in his back four at times.
“You need players to defend set-pieces. No matter how much you dominate possession, you’re going to come up against at least a couple of corners.
“Celtic struggled from the second phase. Corners, two goals and then just never looked like getting back into it.
How many more games are you going to give Wilfried Nancy?
Celtic’s performances under Wilfried Nancy
Nancy’s instant change to a 3-4-3 formation at Celtic has spectacularly failed to deliver results so far, but it seems clear that he will stick with it.
His decision to use Sebastian Tounekti and Yang Hyun-Jun has been widely questioned, but at Tannadice, the biggest issue was with the centre-backs.
Liam Scales sat on the bench as Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston, both full-backs by trade, operated alongside Auston Trusty. You only need to watch United’s goals to see the problems caused by this.
And whilst Nancy can’t really be blamed for a lack of goalscorers that has been evident all season, his defensive calls are leading to more going in at the other end.
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