5 hours ago
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Wilfried Nancy has finally arrived at Celtic, with promises of "exciting, attacking, winning football". But before principles come priorities.
Martin O'Neill leaves having closed the eight-point deficit to Heart of Midlothian, so the Frenchman can begin his Celtic Park tenure by taking his new side to the top of the Scottish Premiership with victory over the faltering early leaders on Sunday.
Wins are the only real currency that matter in Glasgow and the 48-year-old has a testing start, with Roma visiting in the Europa League next midweek and St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final next weekend.
So what does the former Columbus Crew and Montreal head coach need to do in the early days of his tenure?
The one thing in short supply for any new Celtic manager is arguably the element they crave above all others - time. So Nancy will have to get his head around navigating the first big block of fixtures - and doing it with minimal losses.
The schedule is arduous, with a game every three or four days up to his first taste of the derby with Rangers on 3 January.
Not just any old games either - a game at Hampden with silverware up for grabs and a Hearts visit that will decide who leads the domestic table.
A difficult assignment against Roma, with Europa League qualification at stake, also has to be negotiated before the turn of the year.
Whether it is a baptism of fire, a steep learning curve, or a dive into the deep end, it promises to be quite a rollercoaster for Nancy in his first European managerial job.
What is clear from his time at Montreal and Columbus Crew is that 'Nancyball' is a high-risk, high-reward style of play that may come as a bit of a culture shock to some of the current Celtic squad.
He favours a 3-4-3 formation, with a very high defensive line in front of a ball-playing goalkeeper, but the new boss will have minimal time on the training ground amid the flurry of fixtures.
A bunch of matches, with recovery time, limits opportunities for him to impart any new ideas.
The challenge for Nancy will be to blend improvisation and innovation with performance and results. No mean feat.
It is clear to everyone, including the Celtic board, that recruitment largely failed in 2025.
That cannot continue into next year if the club are to progress in Europe and maintain their top-dog status at home in the face of the new challenge from Hearts and the traditional one from the south side of Glasgow.
Nancy will therefore have to agree a strategy with the recruitment committee about who he cannot afford to lose and who he would like to bring in.
What stands in his favour is the relative strength of Celtic's bank balance, as well as the board's admission they could, and should, have spent more in the previous two windows.
While there was much publicised director-level frustration with the previous manager - which goes some way to explaining why the purse strings were kept pretty tight - there is likely to be a desire to back the new man with some serious money in January so he can make the additions he deems necessary.
He has never managed in Europe, far less in the Glasgow goldfish bowl. So Nancy, if he is to be successful, is going to need help. From his board of directors, from his players and from the Celtic support.
There is a possible parallel here with the first few months of Ange Postecoglou's reign. He too was a relatively unheralded arrival back in the summer of 2021, although far more experienced and successful than Nancy, who took his first-ever management job in senior football that same year.
The Australian's style of play was immediately appealing to a large section of the Celtic support, who then gave him the latitude to lose half of his first six Premiership matches.
From a slow start, he was able to overhaul the league leaders by February and never looked back.
Nancy's problem is he is coming to the table mid-season, with a weaker squad.
He will have to rely heavily on his captain Calum McGregor. The man who's been an integral part of a successful dressing room for well over a decade now.
Rodgers and Postecoglou leaned on McGregor heavily. Doubtless, Nancy will do the same, at least initially, until the Frenchman finds a foothold in the Scottish game.
He developed Alastair Johnston at Montreal before selling the right-back to Celtic. Is the Canadian a future Celtic captain under his old coach? One for the future that.
As for relationships with the Celtic directors, two words should help Nancy realise the importance of managing upwards - Brendan Rodgers.
It was all going swimmingly for the talismanic Northern Irishman, laden with trophies bedecked in green and white ribbons. Until it was not - and the club's major shareholder let rip.
Nancy will know, now more than ever in Celtic's recent history, that the current board is not popular with elements of the club's fanbase but can give him the tools he needs to melt the ongoing ice if he can keep them all onside.
Nancy will have his own clear ideas about how he wants to work. It will be just as crystal clear who he wants to help him navigate that journey.
His long-time assistant Kwame Ampedu seems likely to come with him. He already knows Celtic's head of football operations Paul Tisdale from their time at Exeter City together.
Nancy will also know the value of good local knowledge. It would not be in short supply either.
At present, Celtic have Shaun Maloney, Stephen McManus and Mark Fotheringham on the interim staff working under O'Neill. Might one of those coaches be asked to join the new management team? It remains unclear.
A deep understanding of the problems - and also the potential - of the current squad will be invaluable to Nancy. He will have his own views on how to get the best out of them.
Understanding quickly what makes them tick - and, indeed, the club as a whole - could smooth what otherwise looks like a potentially bumpy path for Scottish football's latest high-profile addition.
