Access Denied – Welcome to Celtic Wilfried, Football Without Fans is Nothing

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The Celtic Star

·5 December 2025

Access Denied – Welcome to Celtic Wilfried, Football Without Fans is Nothing

Disappointing from Celtic today, sending a very short email stating that The Celtic Star, scheduled to appear at the pre-match media conference today, would not be allowed access, despite the rota being set by the club back in the summer…

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Conor Spence was attending on behalf of The Celtic Star and would have welcomed Wilfried to Celtic on behalf of the Celtic support and would have asked him about his impressions of the team in the matches he watched while the negotiations were progressing, and what he thought not only about the victories achieved by Martin O’Neill but any lessons from the Europa League defeat against FC Midtjylland?

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And as none of the hacks had asked about team news ahead of the game against Hearts on Sunday he may well have asked the new Celtic manager how the squad was looking and if he had any fresh injury worries.

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Conor would NOT have asked about the ongoing fan protests for a number of reasons, firstly it was a day for welcoming the new manger to the club and secondly because the mainstream media hacks had already asked those questions anyway.

So no official welcome from the Celtic support for a new manager, no team news to report on and no additional insight into what Wilfried Nancy made of the team that he has been watching over the past month or so. And the other fan media site would have had their own questions too.

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Celtic Star has certainly NOT broken the rules that the club set out yet today just over an hour’s notice our access to the media conference was revoked. And at no stage did we agree to be simply a mouth piece or a propaganda service for the club.

This is the email message that The Celtic Star received this morning from Celtic FC at 11.31am as we prepared to attend the media conference with Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown…

“There is no * for fan media today. We are currently reviewing access arrangements for fan media.”

*Access missing in more ways than one.

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Here’s just about everything that was said at today’s media conference ahead of the Scottish Premiership match on Sunday against Hearts. Oh and welcome to Celtic Wilfried…

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Wilfried, welcome to Glasgow.Can you tell us how happy you are to be finally sat here as Celtic manager and why you think that this club was the right move for you?

Wilfried Nancy: “Really, really proud, really excited. Celtic is Celtic, I like to say that, this is a big club but also the story behind it. That’s why I’m here also. To accept the project, it is important to understand why I want to go there and why they want to connect with me. So when I read the story of Celtic with my background, the fit is good. I am happy to discover a new culture.I have been travelling a lot so it is going to be good for myself but also for my family. So I’m really happy, really excited and happy to get a start with my first session today.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: The Celtic fans will be keen to know what you are like as a coach. What can we expect to see from a Wilfried Nancy Celtic team?

Wilfried Nancy: “Listen, it is not a secret regarding Celtic and the way that they play. So I think that if we work together because they want to play in a certain way, so play offensive football. But what does that mean offensive football? This is more about everyone wants to score goals and so on but for me it’s about productivity. Trying to attack the ball as soon as possible. We’re going to have moments where we’ll suffer to the idea is to be good defensively. So step by step, I arrived two days ago, so we have two days to prepare.”

Continues on the next page…

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Big shoes to fill. Martin O’Neill was here in interim charge and he has helped turn Celtic season around. I know that you have had the chance to meet Martin. What did he say to you, what advice did he give you and what to expect with the challenge at Celtic?

Wilfried Nancy: “You know Martin better than me, I know his as a coach obviously but I didn’t know him personally. He’s a wise guy. I was asking questions about the past, the first time, and when he came back and I can tell you he had more pressure when he came back, because he created a lot of memories here and he didn’t want to fail. But he did a really good job and I am happy as I watched many of the games. The joy of playing was back, I’m not saying the joy was not there when Brendan was here but you know, sometimes there’a a cycle. The idea is to be humble and keep going with what they did, at the same time there are nuances, regarding the way we see football. But a really good session with Martin. What a man!”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: It’s quite a first few weeks for you. You’ve got Hearts, a top of the table clash, Roma in the Europa League on Thursday then a first chance of silverware in the Premier Sports Cup Final next Sunday. How are you feeling about all of that? Three massive games in a week?

Wilfried Nancy: “Excited. The way I am as a person, when we have a challenge in front of us. If you don’t have a challenge it would be boring because we need challenges. I’m excited. I’m excited by that. I know it’s going to be good games. The way I see things, every game are good games. We play against a style of play, not the name of the team. We know what we have in front of us, what we want to do, and we’re going to take it game by game and we’ll see what happens.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: What have you been told about what you must achieve here at Celtic in the short and long term and with that have you been promised funds in January to improve the squad, something that both Brendan Rodgers and Martin O’Neill said was required?

Wilfried Nancy: “In each organisation, the idea is to improve. We know we have a window coming but first of all I am going to assess the team and to know them a little bit better. I’ve watched many games now so this is about knowing them as a person and after that we’ll see what is best for the team. I like to take my time but I know we don’t have a lot of time. We want to find the profile we need to progress.”

Continues on the next page…

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: What is your first impression and first assessment of the players?

Wilfried Nancy: “Quality players but they have to believe a little bit more about themselves. After that, tactical flexibility. We have players who can play in different positions – for me this is important to have players who can play in two positions minimum. For me this is really interesting. I like the diversity of the culture. It’s important to keep Scottish players, but also players from elsewhere. A good person and for me, it’s important to have desire to do well. I want my players to be confident and humble. My job is to challenge them for the benefit of the team so my first impressions watching them when I was away, I’m not too far regarding what I thought before.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Very busy schedule through December with a lot of games to play.. How quickly can you impose you ideas and your philosophy about the way you want them to play when you have so many games and so much recovery to get through over the next month or so?

Wilfried Nancy: “I’m not too worried. I’d have preferred to have a pre-season but it’s part of the job and I’m really excited about that. The idea is to prioritise so obviously when we have more time, this is easier. The idea is to prioritise and to understand the player and the person that I work with. It’s a mix of everything. They did a good job before I came, so the idea is just to add a few nuances. We’ll see.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: There have been disappointments for the supporters and the team earlier in the season, with results that they have been disappointed and upset with, what’s your message to the Celtic fans now that you’re the manager and this is the start of a new beginning for them?

Wilfried Nancy: “I don’t read into the future. What happened in the past, that’s life. In life you have up and down. The only moment when it is like this (flat) is when we are dead. The only thing that I can say is that the idea is to get better every time. To be good in the process, with how we want to play, to bring clarity to the player on how we want to play, and after that – to play with passion. This club is a club with passion. We play also for the fans so it’s totally normal that if we don’t play well that they can say something, but the idea is to please them and to give them emotion.

Continues on the next page…

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Both the previous managers, Brendan and Martin, spoke about the importance of unity as there have been issues off the pitch. How do you go about as a manger trying to help that process to re-unity, to unify the club?

Wilfried Nancy: “Listen, I’m a coach so my job is to be a manager. I think this club has real potential. I want to bring joy to the way we want to play and the results that we have. This is the only thing I can control. I’m aware of this (fan protests) The idea is ‘we’ not ‘me’. This is something we’re going to stay focused on the pitch for that.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: You have said a few times about how you connect with Celtic in terms of your values and the club’s values. What in particular attracted you about the story of the club?

Wilfried Nancy: “It’s a club for all. It’s a club open to all. It’s a story of where I come from. But also the style of play. I’m not saying I’m the best manager, but i have a style of play because this is a way of life and the way I was as a player. I believe that by playing this way, we maximise our chances to win games. So that is why the fit with Celtic is obvious because they like to play this kind of football, with that we need to adjust certain things to adapt and to move forward.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: In terms of the January transfer window which is not far away, do you already have ideas about the players you might want to bring in that you know about from yous side?

Wilfried Nancy: “No, The idea is first of all, the window for me is to first of all to know my players better. And we have to anticipate, we have to be ahead. If we are not ahead then we are going to be in trouble. For now the moment will come. We’ve been working together already to see what we need. But let me see what we have and after that, we will adjust.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Have you managed to have any interaction with fans yet since you arrived in Scotland?

Wilfried Nancy: “Yes! Passionate. And again I’m really pleased with that because my job is not a normal job. The life that we have is unbelievable but at the same time we know we have a lot of pressure. Pressure is part of life. I was really pleased to see people welcome me yesterday everywhere. So I hope it stays like that! But listen I’m really, really happy.

“Before I came here, I knew that the demands was high. Everyone talks about winning. I’m not a competitor who likes to lose. How are we going to win? If we lose, is it the end of the world? No. Sometimes we have to lose to get better. It’s not about winning or losing, if I don’t do a good job, I know it will be like that. Carlo Ancelotti was one of the most titles coaches and he has been fired, so I don’t have an issue with that. My job is to be clear to maximise our chances of winning and to win trophies. I can control what we do on the pitch.”

Watch Wilfried Nancy’s first media conference as Celtic Manager below….

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