Nancy’s first win not viewed as a personal milestone

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The Celtic Star

·23. Dezember 2025

Nancy’s first win not viewed as a personal milestone

Wilfried Nancy insisted his first win as Celtic manager should not be viewed as a personal milestone, with his focus instead on narrowing the gap on league leaders Hearts…

21.12.2025 Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership. Kieran Tierney celebrates his goal. Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

The Frenchman finally secured three points at the fifth attempt after a disastrous opening spell in charge of the Hoops. Celtic were in command against an Aberdeen side reduced to ten men in the first half following Dylan Lobban’s straight red for denying Daizen Maeda a goalscoring opportunity.

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Despite scoring three goals, missed chances again threatened to leave Nancy’s men frustrated until a late header from Kieran Tierney and the legendary James Forrest netting for the 17th consecutive season.

Kieran Tierney and James Forrest celebrate during the Premier League match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on December 21, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

While the victory offers some welcome breathing room, Nancy emphasised that its importance lies in what it gives the players and the club rather than himself.

Speaking post-match via Celtic’s official YouTube channel, the 48 year-old Hoops boss said: “I’m happy for the players. I think that today, like I said before, we deserved more wins, but it didn’t happen. Tonight, the players did really really well in terms of obviously the goal that we scored, especially the first one. I like it because we lost the ball and we were really good on the defensive transition. For me, this is important to see that. Especially also the goal that we conceded for the 1-1; playing against ten men was not easy, but they showed again resiliency.”

Kieran Tierney of Celtic celebrates scoring during the Premier League match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on December 21, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“And we hit five times the post; I’ve never seen that in my life, but this is the way it is since I came. I think that we deserve more, but again, like I said before, I can see an improvement every game. Tonight, I’m happy for the players because they deserve it.”

When questioned if he badly needed that kind of result, he replied: “Players, yes, because they are in the arena. Not me, they play. So I know that they want to do well, I know what they want to do.”

“It was not easy for them, like I said, new coach, new way of doing things, nuances, so they need a bit of time. I know that for myself, I don’t have a lot of time, this is the story of my job. As a coach it is like that, but I’m happy for the players, I’m happy for the fans, I’m happy for the club, I’m happy for the board.”

21.12.2025 Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership – Kenan Bilalovic scores for Aberdeen – Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

Despite his error for the red card, Aberdeen goalkeeper Mitov delivered a standout display for the Jimmy Thelin’s side, frustrating the hosts as efforts came back off the posts and crossbar. Reflecting on the craziness of Celtic’s missed chances, Nancy said it was an experience he had never encountered before in his career.

“No, first time,” he said. “Like the four losses that we had was the first time, and also today, the goalkeeper was outstanding. I don’t know if he is all the time like this, but he was outstanding and also we hit five times the post.”

“So again, this is what it is, this is life, but like I said for me it was the reaction because many teams could have been down regarding all the chances that we had, but we kept going wave after wave after wave and I’m really proud of that.”

Benjamin Nygren of Celtic celebrates scoring Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park – 21 Dec ember 2025Glasgow Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO Shutterstock

Hearts maintained their six-point advantage at the top of the table as they followed up recent form with a 2-1 win against theRangers, leaving Celtic still playing catch-up.

However, Nancy reckons his team are only focused on themselves. He said: “We chase anybody. We chase – the idea is to compete with ourselves. After that the standing, we’ll see it.”

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy reacts during the Premier League match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on December 21, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“The standing we’re going to control, it’s the performance that we had tonight that gives us the possibility to come back and to come back and to come back. So we try to give our best, the way we play individually and collectively and after that we’ll see where we’re going to be in the future.”

Conor Spence