“This is more about what we need to improve. And the season is so long,” Wilfried Nancy | OneFootball

It was certainly not the start that the new Celtic manager was hoping for but he started the way he means to go on and will have no regrets about imposing his own tactics from the very start of his time at Celtic, despite having just a few training sessions with his new group of players…

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy during the Premier League match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on December 07, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Firstly the new Celtic manager spoke to Celtic TV. Let’s look at that video before covering the post match media conference…

Q: Not the start you were looking for, Wilfried, can you sum up the day?

Wilfried Nancy:  “Listen, I think that we had a really good first half, and we unbalanced them many times. But after that, the final pass or the execution, we rushed a bit. But I think that we saw really good things in terms of playing with rhythm, to be able to combine, how to unbalance also the man-to-man, and how also to unbalance a team with a lot of players behind the line. So I think that we had really good things regarding that.

Claudio Braga of Hearts scores the opening goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on 7 December 2025. IMAGO Photo Malcolm Mackenzie, PSI

“Obviously, we conceded the goal in the first half. I think that we could have done better to step up the line a little bit more, I think. After that, the second half, we kept going to attack. And when we conceded the second goal, we started to put in cross and cross and cross. And I think that we needed to combine a little bit more to attack the box with numbers. Because they are really good defensively with big guys, tall guys. So I think that we needed to play quick, but we needed also to have more runs, more numbers between the line and also inside the box.

Oisin McEntee of Hearts beats Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with a header and scores to give Hearts a 0-2 lead. Celtic v Hearts, Scottish Premiership, Football, Celtic Park, 07 December 2025. IMAGO Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

“But again, the spirit has been really strong and I’m really pleased with the mindset of the guys. It’s not easy for them to adjust regarding what I wanted, but I saw many, many good things. So the idea is to re-watch the game, show them what we did well and what we need to improve.”

Q: One of the things perhaps you do need to improve is to carve out more clear-cut chances, which didn’t happen today?

Daizen Maeda of Celtic dejected at full-time. Final score Celtic 1 Heart of Midlothian 2. Celtic v Hearts. Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 07 December 2025 IMAGO Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

Wilfried Nancy:  “Exactly. And we know that most of the teams are going to do that, to defend inside the box and so on. So again, how can we balance the scoreboard, knowing that we need to come back. But also how we can be more precise at certain moments to have more numbers, but also to have the tap-in that we want. And I think that we had the possibility to do it in the first half. And in the second half, it was more crosses in the air and I think that we can adjust with that.”

Continues on the next page…

Q: How do you feel the players have adjusted to the new formation? Will it take time for individuals to work out exactly what we need to do?

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy arrives prior to the Premier League match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on December 07, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Wilfried Nancy:  “In the first half, we changed the system. In the second half, it was the same system. And after that, when we wanted to push, it was not the system that we started with. So for me, this is more about how we can deal when teams defend really low. And I think that we were in between to play through the middle. We had opportunities to play through the middle, or to go wide. Or the opposite, go wide and go through the middle. And I think that this is the kind of nuances that can be better. But again, the intention was there. This is now nuances that we need to improve.”

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy reacts during the Premier League match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park on December 07, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Just on the system itself, did you consider not changing it before this game? Because you only had one day on the training ground with the players. Or were you always going to change the shape a little bit?

Wilfried Nancy:  “Again, to be honest with you, I cannot talk too much because I have to fight. But if we watch my team in the past, we never attack the same way. So it’s not about the system. We started to attack with a back three. But after that, it was not a back three. So it’s not about the system. For me, this is about the relation that we can have between players.

Oisin McEntee of Heats ( not seen) scores his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park on December 07, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Because I think that defensively, we did a good job. After that, when we were pushing, pushing, pushing. But defensively, really, really good performance. The intensity for the defensive transition was really, really good. So for me, this is more about how we can connect a little bit more. And when we connected, we had opportunities to break them.

“But second half, we didn’t connect. We put in balls, not in the beginning, but at the end, we put in balls and balls and balls. It’s possible to pass and not cross in the air with big guys. And this is the kind of nuance that I think that we can do better. And also late runs, you know, so kind of overlapping, kind of underlapping. This is all the kind of nuance that I think is going to come.”

Callum McGregor and new Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy are seen during the Premier League match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park on December 07, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: What did you make of Hearts today? Do you feel that they are real title challengers with yourselves?

Wilfried Nancy:  “Listen, the season is long. There are many games coming. So, okay, they have three points ahead. But for me, let’s control what we can control. Today, if I talk about the results, we conceded two goals. We could have done better on the first goal. So it’s on us. And the second goal, we could have done better. So this is what I call the performance. If we do better on this one, maybe they don’t score. So again, for me, this is more about what we need to improve. And the season is so long. This is really, really long.”

Continues on the next page…

Auston Trusty of Celtic is seen at full time during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on December 07, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: How disappointed were you with the first goal that was conceded? The team seemed to switch off?

Wilfried Nancy:  “No, they didn’t switch off. To be honest with you, we were still in the game after the first goal. The second goal, again, I need to know a little bit more about my players also. We played with urgency. But sometimes we played with panic at the same time because we missed many passes. But again, because there was a good intention, good desire to go forward. So obviously, the first goal is disappointing. But when I look at the second goal, the way they scored, it could have been better. But again, this is part of football. Now, how can we come back from that? And I think that we can do better on this.”

Q: The atmosphere here was quite subdued. The fans are obviously quite restless just now. How difficult is that going to be for you as a manager to try and turn this around, turn the atmosphere around?

Wilfried Nancy: “I focus on the pitch, what I can do for my players to get better. And after that, the fans, they want to push us, they want to help us and sometimes to push us. So challenge and support all the time. So for me, it doesn’t change. I’m focused really on the pitch, what I can do better, what I can do to help the team to have better performance, and what can I do to give confidence to the team. But again, it’s only one game. They did well previously in terms of results. I showed them that we could have done something better. And the next time, it’s going to be the same too. But again, my job is to be really focused on the pitch. And after that, the fans, I am with the fans and they’re going to push us.”

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy reacts during the Premier League match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park on December 07, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: This was your first experience of Scottish football. What did you think of the standard? Was it what you expected it to be?

Wilfried Nancy:  “To be honest, the way they played, it was something that we saw already. This is not because I come from a different country that football is going to change. This is the same rules. This is the same players. So the intensity was high and they fought. And they played with big guys and they put a lot of intensity. And this is also the tendency here. But where I come from, in MLS, it was the same. When I was in France, also it was the same, depending on the team. So it doesn’t change too much. But now, this is about how we can bounce back with that.”

Q: Is it too early for you to have learned anything about your team after one game?

Wilfried Nancy: “Yes, I’ve learned a lot. As a coach, again, my players did everything. So me, if we didn’t have the performance that we had, but we had a good performance at certain moments, it’s because I need to help them a little bit more. And I learned a lot of things today. It was a really, really good learning, regarding the way we want to attack, the way we want to defend, how we need to play with more personality at certain moments. For me, it was important in terms of learning process, regarding your question. So now, we’re going to move from that.”

READ THIS…Sandman’s Definitive Ratings – Celtic v Deek’s Diets

Wilfried Nancy took the bold decision to change the team and the formation and backed his players to deliver. His post match comments clearly shows that he understands what he has to fix and he’ll be starting on that today. So while it’s a difficult and disappointing start, there were still encouraging signs in the game and also his post match analysis seems to offer the support enough reasons to be optimistic that the new Celtic boss will be delivering positive results, hopefully in his next two matches.

Match highlights below…

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