Gordon Strachan and Wilfried Nancy have a few things in common.
They both replaced Martin O’Neill at Celtic, and they also had nightmare starts to their managerial careers in Glasgow.
Nancy has just begun his journey in the famous green and white colours, and it remains to be seen whether he can write his legendary status at Scotland’s most successful club.
But Strachan is already a legend at Celtic, after he replaced O’Neill in the Parkhead dugout in 2005.
Whilst Nancy replaced O’Neill after his short interim spell, the no-nonsense Strachan had to follow, probably Celtic’s greatest ever modern-day manager.
What did you make of Gordon Strachan’s reign as Celtic manager?
Gordon Strachan on what Martin O’Neill told him after becoming Celtic manager
One thing that’s great about Strachan and O’Neill is that they are very blunt, they have a dry sense of humour, and they don’t mince their words.
After Strachan became Celtic boss, he did what Nancy probably should have done, and that’s have a proper chat with the Irishman.
In typical O’Neill style, he told Strachan, ‘I hope you aren’t as successful as me’, as he told Open Goal.
Si Ferry: “Did you speak with Martin O’Neill before you took the job?”
Strachan: “Yeah.”
Ferry: “And what did he say?”
Strachan: “He said, ‘I wish you all the best, Gordon. But I hope you aren’t as successful as me,’” which I kindly did.”
Does Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic compare to Tommy Burns’ in 1996? Let us know in the comments.
Strachan on how he got the Celtic job at Cheltenham races
Dermot Desmond has always been the one calling the shots at Celtic, and you can bet your bottom dollar his fingerprints were on the Nancy appointment.
Managers are approached or appointed in very different ways in the modern day.
But when Strachan became Celtic boss, he shared that it all came about when he was at the Cheltenham races. It was his first visit to the races, and he has never been back since.
| Strachan’s games at Celtic | Wins | Draws | Losses | Trophies |
| 195 | 126 | 33 | 36 | 6 |
“When you come to Celtic, you think you know what’s coming, you don’t,” admitted Strachan. “You haven’t got a clue. Your life changes completely. It’s manic. The stress.
“Where was I (when I was asked to be Celtic manager)? I was nowhere. I was at Cheltenham at the races. I have never been to Cheltenham before in my life, and never been back.
“There was an Irish party next door. I was at a hospitality thing with a friend of mine. I went outside and met Kevin Moran, who I used to play with, and Eddie Jordan, Formula One. I had known Eddie for a while.
“They said, ‘We have a guy in there that wants to speak with you.’ It was Dermot. That’s how I first met Dermot.”
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