Wilfried Nancy is finally in the building at Celtic.
It has been a long time coming, with Martin O’Neill holding the fort and getting things back up and running for Celtic over the last six weeks.
First impressions are crucial, and for a man with no experience on the European stage, Nancy came across well during his first media press conference on Friday.
The issue some people have from the outside is understanding what life is like at a club like Celtic, and it’s fair to say there needs to be little to no explaining to do to someone like Nancy, who used Carlo Ancelotti as an example in his presser.
How are your first impressions of Wilfried Nancy?
Wilfried Nancy uses Carlo Ancelotti as an example during his Celtic unveiling
Nancy stated that he already knew ‘the demands were high’ at Celtic, and all that matters is to win.
But the Frenchman explained how many times Ancelotti, who is now the coach of Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup, has been ‘fired’ from previous jobs, so he ‘doesn’t have an issue’ with being under that sort of pressure.
Albeit still at the start of his career, Nancy has held two jobs, starting at CF Montreal, and has never been fired, so this pressure at Celtic is going to feel like a whole different world.
“Before I came here, I knew the demands were high,” said Nancy. “I knew that everybody talked about winning. But we know that.
“I like to say that I don’t know a competitor who likes to lose. So, win? Yes, we want to win. But how are we going to do it? And when we lose, what does it mean? Is it the end of the world? No. Maybe you have to lose to get better.
“Sometimes when you win, yes, in the moment, it could be good. But maybe this isn’t exactly what we need to do to be consistent. I think this isn’t about winning or losing. I know if I don’t do a good job, maybe after five or ten games. It’s going to be like that.
“Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most title (winning) coaches, and he has been fired. So, I don’t have an issue with that, because this is part of our job. My job is to be clear. To maximise our chance to win. To find a way to be consistent.
“And then, obviously, the outcome is to win trophies. But the outcome, I can’t control that. I control what we do every day on the pitch, on the pitch, on the pitch.”
Ancelotti’s managerial career in numbers
Ancelotti is regarded as one of the greatest coaches of his generation. You don’t get to manage Real Madrid twice without being special.
But that’s exactly what the Italian has done, including winning several European Cups in the colours of AC Milan and Madrid.
Either way, it’s a managerial record many dream of, as it will now see Ancelotti face Scotland at the 2026 World Cup next summer, where he will be hoping to add to his already quite incredible record.
- Games managed (club and international): 1,376
- Wins: 832
- Draws: 286
- Losses: 258
- Number of sackings: 5
- Trophies won: 35
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