Wilfried Nancy claims Celtic were aware start to his reign could be bumpy

Celtic have lost the first three of the Frenchman's games in charge

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy: "I can tell you that every day there is an improvement." Pic: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

Wilfried Nancy claimed his employers knew the start of his Celtic tenure might unfold as it has as he expressed gratitude for their support.

Nancy became the first Celtic manager to lose his opening two matches before suffering defeat to St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final.

Some fans have already decided Nancy is out of his depth after three consecutive defeats – a run that had only happened twice in 32 years.

Describing the response as a “normal reaction”, the Frenchman revealed he tries to shield himself from criticism as much as possible.

“The only thing that I know is I receive a lot of messages from my family to ask me if I’m OK,” the 48-year-old said. “So it means that maybe I get killed, but it’s OK.” 

When asked if he had also received support from the Celtic hierarchy, he said: “I’m very grateful with the people that I work with. They know why I am here, they protect me, they know what I want to do for the club.

“They know where we are at this moment and we knew this moment could happen. But they know the most important thing is where do we want to go?

“There are bumps. Obviously, I would have preferred the opposite because trust me, when we do this job, when we lose, this is so difficult, so painful. But this is part of the job.

“But the club, the people within the club, the board and everyone has been spot-on.” 

Nancy has come under fire for immediately introducing a new formation after two days on the training pitch and sticking with it through defeats by Hearts, Roma and St Mirren.

The Frenchman looks unlikely to backtrack for Wednesday’s William Hill Premiership clash with Dundee United at Tannadice.

“I’m not here to please myself,” said the former Toronto and Columbus Crew head coach, who argued his tactics were “not rocket science”.

“I’m here to find a way to help my players to play together offensively and defensively.

“It’s totally normal that people criticise me or say certain things regarding the system or the way I play because I don’t win. But I’m going beyond winning. It’s about character, it’s about personality, it’s about coherence, it’s about also the way we want to play offensively and defensively. And there is nothing about the system. This is about the desire to compete every time.

“I’m asking a lot of questions to see what I can do better. But it’s a bit difficult to say that because for the moment I haven’t won.

“But when we’re going to win, it’s going to be the same because my job is to make the team better when we win and also when we lose.” 

Nancy made a positive immediate impact at his previous clubs but his tactical transformation at Celtic comes amid a run of midweek games.

“As a coach, we need time,” he said. “But at the same time, we know that we don’t have time. So that’s why for me, it’s new.

“But I know what to do. And I can tell you that every day there is an improvement. You are not able to see it because you are not with us.

“I cannot talk too much because results are important. And for a moment, I have nothing. But I know that it will come.”