Wilfried Nancy appointed Celtic manager: Scottish Premiership champions confirm Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor

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Wilfried Nancy appointed Celtic manager: Scottish Premiership champions confirm Brendan Rodgers' permanent successor

Celtic have named Wilfried Nancy as the club’s new manager on a two-and-a-half year deal.

The 48-year-old arrives from MLS side Columbus Crew – where he won the MLS Cup and the Leagues Cup – to become Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor, after he quit Parkhead for a second time in October.

Nancy’s first match will be against Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts on Sunday – live on Sky Sports – with the Frenchman taking over from interim boss Martin O’Neill on Thursday.

That is the first of three key fixtures within his first week as Hoops boss, with Celtic then hosting Roma in the Europa League next Thursday, before taking on St Mirren in the League Cup final at Hampden Park next Sunday.

Sunday 7th December 2:30pm

Kick off 3:00pm

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Nancy, who will be joined by his No 2 and former Arsenal youth boss Kwame Ampadu in Glasgow, said: “I am so happy to be named Celtic manager. It is a massive honour for myself and my family.

“Before I say anything else I want to do one thing – I want to thank the great Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney for all they have done in recent weeks with the team. The job they have done has been fantastic … they have my total respect and my total gratitude. I hope to meet them both very soon and thank them personally.

“Now its up to me to carry on this great work and carry our great club forward and I can’t wait to get going and become part of such a brilliant institution. Celtic is one of the world’s proper football clubs, real atmosphere and heart and soul, real high standards and real demands, which I am ready for.

“I know the history, I know the values of Celtic and I know what is expected of me on this journey. I know what Celtic means to so many people and my No 1 aim will be simple – to give our fans a strong, exciting, attacking, winning football team they can be so proud of.”

Celtic chief Peter Lawwell said Nancy was “a manager with a record which demonstrates the kind of football which we know Celtic supporters love to see.”

He added: “I want to express our sincere thanks to Martin, Shaun and our backroom team for all they have done in recent weeks during this interim period. They have done such a tremendous job in stabilising the team and restoring a real level of confidence, with some fantastic results domestically and in Europe.”

Why Celtic wanted Nancy

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Nancy guided Columbus Crew to seventh in the MLS Eastern Conference last season

Celtic see many similarities between Nancy and Ange Postecoglou, who left the club in 2023 to take over at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Frenchman was recommended by the club’s head of football operations, Paul Tisdale, who had been monitoring his progress for some time.

Postecoglou won titles in Australia and Japan, plus the Asian Cup with the Australian national team.

Image:
Ange Postecoglou won five trophies in two seasons with Celtic

However, Nancy is younger than Postecoglou and has already won silverware in America and Canada.

Prior to his move to Glasgow, he won the Canadian Championship during his only season at CF Montreal, and helped Columbus Crew clinch the MLS Cup and Leagues Cup. He also guided Crew to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final during his three years in the US.

His impact has been recognised with not only club honours but also personal ones, after being named MLS Coach of the Year in 2024.

In just four years of management, Nancy has achieved success and Celtic feel he can make that next step into European football.

What can Celtic fans expect?

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MLS expert Tom Bogert assesses Wilfried Nancy’s impact in the MLS and tells Celtic fans what they can expect from a ‘defining manager’

“Wilfried Nancy is one of the defining managers of the last half-decade in Major League Soccer.”

A bold statement, but MLS expert Tom Bogert is in no doubt about the quality of Celtic’s new boss.

“His tactical evolution, the way the team plays, how brave they are, how courageous, it’s total football that starts from the back,” The Athletic journalist added.

Image:
Columbus Crew play front-footed, possession-based football under Nancy

“He likes to play out of a back three, but his outside centre-backs have freedom to get forward.

“His wing-backs play like wingers. Both at Montréal and then Columbus, almost every attacker he’s worked with has had their best-ever season.

“He is a developmental manager. He gets the best out of young players, in prime players and older players, and he plays a front-footed possession-based attractive style of football.”

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Sutton: Nancy must hit the ground running after O’Neill’s masterclass

Since taking over from Brendan Rodgers, O’Neill saw the gap on leaders Hearts close from an eight-point deficit to just two with a game in hand.

The Hoops are also in the League Cup final after beating Rangers, plus could yet qualify to the next stage of the Europa League after a 3-1 win away to Feyenoord.

O’Neill’s results as Celtic interim manager

Celtic 4-0 Falkirk – Scottish Premiership
Celtic 3-1 Rangers – League Cup
Midtjylland 3-1 Celtic – Europa League
Celtic 4-0 Kilmarnock – Scottish Premiership
St Mirren 0-1 Celtic – Scottish Premiership
Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic – Europa League
Hibernian 1-2 Celtic – Scottish Premiership

Speaking on Sky Sports, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton said: “Martin took over a team which was low on confidence. There had been issues performance-wise all season.

“Had he lost a few games and things went badly, people would have said ‘he wasn’t up for the job, he never should have come back’.

“I was worried about his legacy, because of my relationship with him, but I’m absolutely delighted for him.”

When asked what O’Neill’s impressive run of results means for Nancy, Sutton added: “Every passing win is going to really put the pressure on him because everybody will expect Wilfried Nancy to come in with the team, which seems to be more confident, and hit the ground running.

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Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton on the job done by Martin O’Neill at Celtic, and the task at hand for Wilfried Nancy

“It won’t take long for things to turn, with Martin doing so well. I think it’s really difficult for him because there are three games a week, and there’s no real time to work on the training ground.

“If he does play a back three, which is apparently the way that he plays at Columbus Crew, to come in and implement that – I don’t think that’s easy.”