Wilfried Nancy has admitted it was a mistake to join Celtic when he did, and believes the players 'resisted' him because he was not Martin O'Neill. The Frenchman became the shortest-serving manager in the club's history when he replaced O'Neill in December 2025, only to be sacked 33 days later.
He oversaw just eight games, losing six of them, with O'Neill drafted back in to salvage a Double. Nancy became a figure of ridicule from the start and was unable to muster the results early on to back his ambitious vision.
Timing error
Speaking in a revealing interview in France, Nancy said taking over in December, in the middle of a hectic fixture list, was a 'mistake'. But while he wishes he had waited a bit longer to take the job, he still does not regret his time in Glasgow despite the abrupt ending.
Nancy told La Presse: “I knew the challenge was going to be difficult. Looking back, I think I made a mistake with the timing. I should have waited, and maybe gone in January.
“The period I was there was one of the most intense periods in the club's history. They had a lot of injuries, there were a lot of matches.
“To be honest with you, I'm still happy with how it turned out. Despite, of course, the fact that I got fired.
“With a lot of humility, I had quite a few options (before joining Celtic). I could have stayed in Columbus. There were quite a few clubs that were really interested.”
Player resistance
Nancy also reckons the players being 'comfortable' with O'Neill did not help his case as he looked to implement a new style of play. But he insists he did not change too much at once, and reckons the xG stats prove he was not as bad as the results suggest.
“The idea was to bring a fresh touch to the club, to modernise it a bit,” he went on. “Not to change the culture, because Scottish culture is Scottish culture. But to bring something fresh, something new.
“When I arrived, well, I'm not Martin O'Neill. I have different methods. However, I didn't want to change them much.
“Everything was going well in terms of the game. But as soon as we conceded a goal, we started to get nervous.
“I wouldn’t have had the same narrative if things hadn’t gone well in terms of performance. I don’t like ‘ifs’ or ‘shoulds,’ but the reality is that we lost games with 4.2 and 3.8 xG.
“We should have won more games. That’s why it’s still a little hard to accept, because it would have been totally different. But at the same time, it was an experience to be had. It was great.”
“There were some players who were resistant because they were comfortable [with O'Neill].”
MLS perception
Nancy was also asked whether the perception of MLS in the UK hurt his cause, and says he knew that was going to be the case from the get go.
He added: “I knew from the start it was going to be like that. People don't know much about MLS. I got questions where sometimes they thought I was just starting out. But the football people saw what I wanted to build.”
