Wilfried Nancy Media Conference ahead of Celtic trip to Tannadice

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Q: You mentioned that you would have preferred a little bit more time to try and get your ideas across and your new style of play with the players? With the benefit of hindsight, given how the first three games have gone, is there any part of you that’s got a little bit of regret about taking the job?

Wilfried Nancy: “No. No. Understand me well. When I said more time, because he asked me a clear question regarding we play every three days. So I’m talking about this.”

Colby Donovan. Premier Sports Cup Final. 14 December 2025. St Mirren v Celtic. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: But I mean, if you were to delay coming here, it might have been a better chance?

Wilfried Nancy: “Life is about moments. And it was the moment to come. So I decided to come because everybody wanted me to come. And me also, I wanted to come here. So that’s why now it’s easy to talk about if I would have done something different. If I did it at this moment, it’s because it was the best way to do it. So I don’t think about this. And I’m happy to be here. And again, you’re going to think that I’m crazy. But I’m embracing this adversity because I know that I’m getting better. And again, I would have preferred to avoid it. But life is like that. And I knew that this possibility could come. So again, be on the pitch. Be good. Be current. Be what you need to do to help the team to win. Be better. And so on. And after that, we’ll see.”

Callum McGregor with Wilfried Nancy. Premier Sports Cup Final. St Mirren v Celtic. Hampden Park, Sunday 14 December 2025. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

Q: How comfortable do you think the players are in terms of trying to play the style of football that you want them to, both on the training pitch and then taking it to a match?

Wilfried Nancy: “First of all, this is not rocket science, what I’m saying in terms of football. No, I am a coach with just ideas. And they did it before. I’m just asking my players to play with a few nuances. But I don’t try to invent football, just to be clear. The way we defend, we defend. This is the same principle. This is the same concept. Now, the back five that I play with. So when a team plays with a back four, so when the opposite team plays with a front five, it’s a 5v4, correct? Who do you think will come back? Who will come back to create a 5v5? The winger.

Callum McGregor with Wilfried Nancy. Premier Sports Cup Final. St Mirren v Celtic. Hampden Park, Sunday 14 December 2025. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

“So me, I have already a winger in this position. And the idea is when the ball is up, you have to jump for the ball. So we play with a back four. This is not a back five. So the system is useless to talk about this. This is useless. Because again, the idea is when we play with a back four and the opposition play with six players between the line, most of the time players have to come back to create a 6v6. Okay? Me, I don’t ask my players to come back. I ask them to attack. Because they are already in position. So that’s why for me, now it’s about profile. It’s about trying to speed up the process a bit to know the player a little bit better. I know the player, but now the context, how to cope with pressure.

“Because again, I like to be here because I told them it’s unbelievable to play for this club and in front of this crowd. Why? Because when we connect three, four, five passes and we attack the box, they are so happy. And this is my football. And when we lose the ball, and we try to win the ball back and we make tackles, they do the same. And this is my football too.

Premier Sports Cup. St Mirren v Celtic. Hampden Park, Sunday 14 December 2025. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

“So now is when things don’t go the way we want, is it possible to keep going? And this is a little gap that I try to convince my player to face this adversity. Because I believe with the standard of this club, we need this kind of player to play with personality. And this is not easy to be a player. This is not easy to play at home because it can be really good. But when things don’t go the way we want, you have to be, I’m going to stay polite, but really strong to cope with that.

“So my job is to help them to be good on that. They know how to play football. This is just to change certain things, but I can see every day good stuff. So that’s why I am really eager to see what next, the game coming and the next game coming and so on and so on and so on, to be able to reverse this kind of situation. Because I know that they want to do well, but now we need to be more consistent.”

Kelechi Iheanacho is injured during the Premier Sports Cup Final match between St Mirren and Celtic at Hampden Park on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Vagelis Georgariou, The Celtic Star)

Q: Just injury-wise, is Kelechi going to be out for a while? How’s Anthony Ralston?

Wilfried Nancy: “No, Ralston is OK. But Kelechi is going to be out. I don’t know the timeline at the moment, but he won’t be available for tomorrow.”

Watch Wilfried Nancy’s Media Conference ahead of Wednesday night’s Dundee United v Celtic Scottish Premiership match at Tannadice…

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