Wilfried Nancy is just over a week into his time at Celtic.
It’s been a season of change at Celtic Park, particularly since the sudden departure of Brendan Rodgers.
Along with that of Rodgers, the departure of John Kennedy was significant, given that he had been at the club for over 27 years.
None of the three coaches who came along with Martin O’Neill have stayed on under Nancy, which is perhaps a surprise given that this could’ve aided what has been a rough transition so far.
Since the arrival of Nancy, Maxime Chalier and Jules Gueguen, there have been rumours of long-serving Celtic goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods leaving – Nancy has now addressed them.
Has Wilfried Nancy been poorly advised since joining Celtic?
Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy on Stevie Woods rumours
Woods has been at Celtic for 17 years, and is currently working with his eighth manager at the club.
Joe Hart and Kasper Schmeichel have both spoken of their admiration for him as a coach, so it would certainly be bizarre if the club were to push for a change.
READ MORE: Joe Hart begs Celtic to send ‘bare minimum’ message to Wilfried Nancy
And speaking at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final, Nancy was asked if there was any truth in the rumours.
Nancy answered straight: “”No, he’s here. He trained with us, he’s committed to what he does, so this is the most important.”
He went on to discuss Evan Ferguson’s comments after the Hoops’ 3-0 defeat to Roma, which have made headlines.
Ferguson said: ““We knew they were in the transition with the managers, they changed the formation.
“You could see, at times, they played well and it worked and, at times, they didn’t, some people didn’t know what they were doing.”
In response to the Ireland striker, Nancy gave another blunt response.
He said: “He can say whatever he wants. The difficulty is, we faced a good team. At certain moments. we struggled and it could have been better for sure.
“But yes, my players know what to do. But after that, the execution was not good at this moment. If he felt it, I have no problem.”
Watch as Evan Ferguson bags a brace against Celtic. Is he what we are missing?
Other key departures from Celtic this season
Along with Rodgers and Kennedy, three other staff members left Celtic in late October.
Among them were coaches Adam Sadler and Glen Driscoll, as well as analyst Jack Lyons – all three of whom worked with Rodgers at Leicester.
A few weeks after Rodgers’ departure, Celtic’s head of scouting, Jay Lefevre, left the club to join Swansea.
Lefevre has released a statement about his exit, saying he was “incredibly proud” of what he’d done at Celtic, and namechecking the guidance of Ange Postecoglou.
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