“Martin found a way to do it, and the outcome came naturally,” Nancy

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The Celtic Star

·5 Desember 2025

“Martin found a way to do it, and the outcome came naturally,” Nancy

Wilfried Nancy revealed he enjoyed a very positive conversation with Martin O’Neill following his appointment as Celtic’s new manager…

Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill at full time during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee at Celtic Park on December 03, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

O’Neill’s stint of eight matches as interim Hoops boss concluded on Wednesday night when Nancy agreed to a two-and-a-half-year contract. The French coach then reached out to the outgoing boss for important guidance.

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Speaking via Celtic TV, Nancy said: “I just met Martin. I didn’t know him, obviously, personally, but I knew him as a coach. And what a guy. Simple as that. What a guy.

“Humble, genuine, and also we had a really good discussion. I wanted to ask him advice on certain things, and we shared a few things. And I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised because the way he is as a man.

“You know, as a coach, sometimes we don’t have the formula”

“You know, as a coach, sometimes we don’t have the formula. And this is a mix of everything. So, depending on the day, you have to be authentic and genuine as a person, because this is who you are with your players. And for me, Martin has been really, really good.”

The 48 year-old added: “I don’t talk about the tactical aspect and so on, because we are all competent at this point. But now this is how you manage people. And obviously, when I watched the game when he took the team, I saw the joy and the confidence with the players.”

“I’m not saying that Brendan did a bad job”

Brendan Rodgers, Celtic Glasgow press conference ahead UEFA Europa league match against Crvena zvezda at Rajko Mitic stadium, Belgrade 23.09.2025 Belgrade Rajko Mitic stadium Serbia Photo VM/MN Press

“And again, understand me well, I’m not saying that Brendan [Rodgers] did a bad job. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that Martin found a way to do it, and the outcome came naturally. So well done. Well done for him.”

Nancy will make his debut as manager of the Scottish champions this Sunday when Celtic host Hearts at Celtic Park.

He will then experience European competition for the first time with the visit of Roma to Glasgow next Thursday in the Europa League. A week later, he could claim his first piece of silverware in the Premier Sports League Cup final against St Mirren at Hampden. It doesn’t get much bigger for Celtic’s new boss in the first week of his new job. Certainly exciting times ahead.

The Celtic Star hit with fan media ban

The Celtic Star was scheduled to speak to the Celtic manager at today’s media conference ahead of Sunday’s match against Hearts. The club issued the rota in the summer for the season but our access was revoked at 11.31am this morning, with no reason given by the club.

Conor Spence

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