Better hire than O’Neill: Celtic could appoint “incredible” British manager
Days on from a sixth loss in eight matches, Celtic head coach Wilfried Nancy has officially been sacked by the club after less than two months in the dugout.
A 3-1 loss against their Glasgow rivals at Parkhead on Saturday was his fourth defeat in six Scottish Premiership games, and that was enough for the club to decide to move on from him.
From the outside looking in, some may wonder if the former Columbus Crew manager was given enough time to implement his ideas after joining midway through the season.
Why Celtic were right to sack Nancy
After the loss to Rangers, Chris Sutton said: “It’s not working. I think he’ll be fortunate to survive this. People say, ‘well, it’s not Wilfried Nancy’s fault’, and maybe it isn’t, but the club have to be really decisive.”
He added: They can’t hang around in terms of getting players in, but if they want to stick with Wilfried Nancy, and I’m not so sure that they should, because there’s probably a guy out there where they’d stand a better chance of winning the Premiership with.”
Nancy is the only Celtic manager in the club’s history to lose their first four matches in charge of the club, and the first to lose six of their first eight competitive games in the dugout.
It is a historically bad start for a head coach at a club that is built on short-term success. The Hoops should not need to spend months and months on a project because they should be winning trophies every season.
The comments of Luke McCowan in the interview above were astonishing. Perhaps the raw emotion after such a loss came across too much, but he stated that the manager needed to react to the changes that Danny Rohl made at the break, and his reaction to a question about backing Nancy is damning.
With all of this in mind, the Premiership champions were right to part ways with him. Now, they must find an upgrade on the Frenchman, and it should not be Martin O’Neill.
EFL manager could be a big Nancy upgrade for Celtic
Despite seven wins in eight games as the interim manager, the Hoops should still be looking for the manager who can lead them in the future, as well as in the here and now.
That is why they should look past O’Neill as a possible replacement for Nancy, because an interim until the end of the season only delays the inevitable.
Manager Focus
Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.
Instead, they should revisit the reported interest that they had in Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna prior to Nancy’s arrival, as he was reportedly one of their targets to replace Brendan Rodgers.
The Northern Irish boss, who was described as “incredible” by Tractor Boys winger Wes Burns, would have to be tempted to part ways with the English side in the midst of a promotion battle, though, which is one possible obstacle in the way of hiring him.
If the Hoops could convince McKenna to make the move to Parkhead, it would be a “huge coup”, as journalist Pete O’Rourke said at the time of the initial link, because of his work with Ipswich.
The former Manchester United youth coach has taken the Tractor Boys from being a mid-table League One team to competing for a return to the Premier League, after being relegated from the top-flight last term.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich career
Season (games managed)
League position
25/26 Championship (25)
2nd
24/25 Premier League (38)
19th
23/24 Championship (46)
2nd
22/23 League One (46)
2nd
21/22 League One (23)
11th
Stats via Transfermarkt
To go from an 11th-place League One finish, when he joined midway through the season, to earning back-to-back promotions shows that he can galavnise a club and take them to the next level, and the level after that.
Get the newsletter for candid Celtic manager coverage Subscribing to the newsletter unlocks deeper tactical breakdowns, manager comparisons and realistic replacement scenarios focused on Celtic’s coaching debate — expert-driven coverage that helps you assess the options with evidence, not emotion.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
He may not have a title under his belt, which Celtic supporters may question, but he has achieved his success with a team that is not expected to be competing for titles, yet he has still had them challenging at the very top, which speaks to his tactical and motivational skills.
Bringing in a manager who has proven that he can lift a team and achieve unexpected success could be exactly what Celtic need to save their season after a dreadful run of results that has left the side in a difficult spot.
On top of his success with Ipswich, the Northern Irish boss also favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, per Transfermarkt, which means that he would play a formation more suited to what Celtic are used to, having played 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 under Rodgers, O’Neill, and Ange Postecoglou, instead of the 3-4-2-1 system that did yield success.
Better signing than Rossi: Celtic have "clinical" £6m ST on their radar
Celtic have a centre-forward on their radar who would be an even better signing than Diego Rossi.
ByDan Emery
Therefore, McKenna could come in as an upgrade on Nancy, who has endured a disastrous spell in the dugout so far, if the club can get him to ditch Ipswich in the middle of a promotion chase.