Bernardo on Nancy – “He believes a lot in his ideas and in himself”

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The Celtic Star

·19 December 2025

Bernardo on Nancy – “He believes a lot in his ideas and in himself”

Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo has played down the club’s current struggles on the pitch, maintaining that the squad is slowly gaining a better understanding of Wilfried Nancy’s tactical blueprint with each passing match…

Paulo Bernardo during the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden on Sunday 15 December 2024. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

He believes the newly appointed Celtic boss remains confident in his vision and methods, showing no signs of wavering despite a disastrous start of four defeats.

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Bernardo has urged his fellow players to remain aligned and continue executing the manager’s instructions as the team searches for a dramatic turnaround in form.

According to the Portuguese midfielder, there have been encouraging phases within games where Nancy’s approach has worked, but Celtic must now translate those moments into consistent, 90-minute performances.

Paulo Bernardo Portugal, UEFA European Under 21 Championship 2025 Group Stage, Portugal v France, Å tadion SihoÅ, June 11, 2025 in Trencín, Slovakia Photo by Marco Steinbrenner DeFodi Images

“I think he believes a lot in his ideas and in himself,” Bernardo said via Celtic’s official YouTube channel. “We need to try to do the same together as a group and find our way through this.”

“I think it’s about momentum. It’s a different system. Celtic, I think, in the last five or six years, they never played as a back five, or as three centre-backs. It’s a little bit different, but I think we should do better as well. It’s not all about the coaches. We have accountability together.”

“I think the first half of the last game was good. We should score a lot of goals. We have total control of the game in the first half. The second half was totally different. Dundee United came for us, and we couldn’t play a lot in the first 20 minutes of the second half.”

Bert Esselink of Dundee United making a pass with Paulo Bernardo of Celtic closing down during the Scottish Premiership match between Dundee United and Celtic at Tannadice Park on December 17, 2025 in Dundee. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

Bernardo added: “But in the first half, the ideas of the coach went really well. I think we showed we can hurt the teams a lot. I think the first half was one of the best this season.”

“The process is not going well, in terms of wins. We are improving game by game. We showed a little bit of that in the first half. We just need to keep improving and then finish the job on the second one.”

When questioned whether Celtic’s encounter against Aberdeen on Sunday is a must-win, he responded: “I think we need to win all the games, all the time.”

Paulo Bernardo at Firhill. Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“These games, after losses, are always a big challenge. We always want to bounce back from the loss,” Bernardo added.

“But we are at Celtic, we need to win every championship, every trophy and every game. It will be like one more game we need to win, and we have to find a solution and change the path of these last games.”

Conor Spence

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