"I have nothing to prove. I just have to work," Nancy

Wilfried Nancy maintained a confident tone after recording his first victory as Celtic manager, reiterating that he feels no obligation to justify himself despite recent scrutiny…

Benjamin Nygren of Celtic celebrates scoring Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park – 21 Dec ember 2025Glasgow Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO Shutterstock

The Scottish champions were pushed hard before seeing off a ten-man Aberdeen side, with a first-half strike courtesy of Benjamin Nygren cancelled out by a Dons equaliser from Kenan Bilalovic before late goals thanks to academy graduates Kieran Tierney and James Forrest settled the contest and left Celtic still six points adrift of Hearts, who defeated theRangers at Tynecastle.

21.12.2025 Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership – Kenan Bilalovic scores for Aberdeen – Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

The win halted a run of four straight defeats and offered a timely boost after a disastrous opening spell in charge of the Hoops for the Frenchman. Nancy again echoed comments he had made earlier last week, insisting external doubts have not altered his self-belief.

Speaking to Sky Sports when asked if the display was closer to his footballing vision, he said: “I have nothing to prove. I just have to work and show stuff.”

21.12.2025 Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership. Kieran Tierney scores for Celtic 2-1. Photo IMAGO Kenny Ramsay

“This is not me, this is the players. My job is to help the players connect, and be good on the pitch and to find a solution to help them. This is what we did and I am happy for them.”

“I feel good for the players. I think that they deserve more wins and that didn’t happen. You can see today, we hit the post five times – I have never seen that in my life. You see the resilience of the team. To hit the post and five times and then concede, it’s not easy, but they showed a lot of grit.”

Nancy and his players now have a bit of breathing space and time to work on the training pitch before travelling to Livingston two days after Christmas.

21.12.2025 Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership. James Forrest scores for Celtic 3-1. Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

With Motherwell and theRangers to come after Livi, the team needs to go on a considerable run of results similar to what Martin O’Neill done if the manager is to build up credibility.

That on Sunday was perhaps the best performance of the season in terms of chance creation. However, Nancy needs help with quality attacking players. Over to you to deliver, Celtic board.

🍀 “This is only the beginning…”

Wilfried Nancy praises the spirit of his team after a first win in charge of Celtic against Aberdeen ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/bngcB1cSTw

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) December 21, 2025