Wilfried Nancy has been in Scotland for less than a week and in the Celtic dugout for one match. Yet the mainstream scrutiny has already veered into the absurd and is getting more personal by the day.
On Tuesday, the Daily Record rolled out former Hearts midfielder Ryan Stevenson and gave him a platform for a remarkable personal tirade at the new Celtic manager. Not on tactics or decisions, but on a tactics board and the colour of the Frenchman’s shoes.
Celtic lost 2-1 to Hearts at Celtic Park on Sunday. The team started well, then faded, and Hearts were savvy enough to take the points. It was a poor result, but hardly a shock given Nancy met his players for the first time on Thursday. You would not know that from some of the reactions.
Stevenson opened fire: “There’s a certain DNA to clubs like Celtic. So when a new manager arrives and starts pulling out tactics boards and green trainers you have to ask yourself, ‘What are we actually dealing with here?’”
He added: “I’m not even a Celtic fan but I’m absolutely raging about what I’ve seen from Nancy in his first day in the job.”
His criticism centred on a photograph circulating online. “There’s a photograph doing the rounds from the second half which sums it up perfectly. Nancy is standing with his little tactics board, trying to explain something to Callum McGregor. Derek is in the background with a look on his face which almost screams, ‘What the hell is this guy all about?’”
Stevenson continued “I’m sorry but Nancy simply won’t get away with gimmicks like that at Celtic Park. If you are going to be the manager of Celtic, you should not be standing at the side of a pitch trying to figure things out on a tactics board. The ideas should be in your head already.”
Soccer Football – Scottish Premiership – Celtic v Heart of Midlothian – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – December 7, 2025 Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy talks to Callum McGregor REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
“You have to, at the very least, give off the impression that you are in control and that you know how to solve problems. Yeah, but he is a student of the game? Please, give me a break with that patter. I cannot stand it. Just make a decision.”
Let’s get this straight. This is manufactured outrage. Celtic fans were split over the tactics board on Sunday. We understand the optics can be bad. Fair enough. Supporters debate everything and it’s not something fans are used to here. When you lose, it becomes fair game for ridicule in many corners, rightly or wrongly. However, what the Daily Record published goes well beyond a reasonable critique of an early performance. It is a personal attack on a man who has not had any time at all in the job.
The wider context matters. Celtic fan media, including Celts Are Here, have had press access suddenly placed under review. We have been told to wait. We have been given no explanation. We cannot ask the new manager questions on behalf of supporters. Yet outlets that publish pieces like this have open access and a clear pathway to shape the narrative.
3D9G4PD Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy during a press conference at Celtic FC Training Centre, Lennoxtown. Picture date: Friday December 5, 2025.
Nancy deserves time. He deserves support. He deserves to be judged on his work, not mocked for wearing green trainers or for using a coaching tool that is standard in modern football. The treatment he has received in parts of the Scottish media so far has been astonishing. Celtic supporters who have taken part in this should also have a look at themselves.
He is in the door two minutes and already the knives are out. It’s telling, and we have seen it before. Who knows how this will pan out, but the Frenchman deserves time and patience to implement his style.
