In the transitional period between Brendan Rodgers’ departure from Celtic and the arrival of Wilfried Nancy, fans delved deeply into the details of Nancy’s leadership at Columbus Crew.

His tenure was marked by significant achievements: clinching the MLS Cup in 2023, securing the Leagues Cup the following year, and earning the prestigious Coach of the Year Award.

Former players frequently praised Nancy, portraying him as ahead of his time and a genuine people-person, bolstering his reputation as the ideal candidate for Celtic.

However, after Nancy’s recent press conference at Fir Park, doubts began to surface about whether Celtic had chosen the right man for the job.

His team suffered their fifth loss in seven games, following a particularly lackluster performance that some fans deemed the most uninspired by a green-and-white side in years.

Under-fire Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy struck a defiant tone at his press conference on Friday

The manager sounded like a defeated man after this week’s 2-0 defeat at Motherwell

The Frenchman regained some of his composure in front of the Press, however, as he defended his appointment

A grave situation demanded serious words from the manager, but his utterances made you wonder if he grasped what had just unfolded. ‘It’s not a surprise,’ he said. ‘I know where we are.’

For many observers, this defeatist attitude signalled the point of no return. If the manager had so little faith in his side, how could they possibly perform to the requisite level? Give Nancy this much. Three days on from looking like a beaten man, he at least came out swinging yesterday.

Asked if the arrival of Julian Araujo was an indication that the board would give him the players he needed in this window, he laid it all on the line in a seven-minute monologue which resulted in more raised eyebrows than a convention of plastic surgeons.

‘It’s step by step as you can imagine,’ he said. ‘I know that you do your job (media) and your job is to attack me and ask me a lot of questions. I have no problem with that. This is your job. My job is to be the coach.

‘I’m pleased to be here. I know where we are now – that’s why I said what I said about the Motherwell game.

‘I am not an underdog, I want my team to compete against any team, I repeat, any team.

‘But, with the context, I knew that this kind of situation could happen.’

This last comment from Nancy referred to being thrown head-long into a campaign without the necessary time for his methods to take root.

Nancy’s Celtic team were outplayed and outpassed by Motherwell at Fir Park this week

Nancy reminded reporters that he has arrived mid-season and pleaded for more time

‘If you do your job, you’re going to be able to see what I did in the past,’ he added.

‘And the way I play, what I want to do, the way I want to defend, the way I want to attack, it is clear.

‘Obviously, people and fans are not happy. And me, too, I am not happy, because I see only a few glimpses of what I want to do.

‘But I am pleased with that, too, because this is only 12 or 13 sessions that we did. This is the context. Usually, we have four weeks of pre-season.

‘So, it is totally normal that you guys kill me. I’m totally fine with that because I know where I want to go.’

Nancy would not be pinned down on when exactly supporters could expect to see him arrive at this destination.

‘If you want to judge me now, then you can do it, because it’s fact that I didn’t, and we didn’t, have the results that we wanted. I cannot deny that.

‘New players take a bit of time. And we have players who have been here for five, six, seven years doing certain things in a certain way. No kidding that it takes time.

His Celtic players looked totally confused and in disarray as they were beaten by Motherwell

Celtic’s players can barely look as Motherwell celebrate a convincing victory at Fir Park

‘I’m going to be a liar if I say that everything is happy, everything is good. No. It is not the case. I knew that before, because this is part of my job.

‘So, that is why I am calm regarding all the questions that you ask me. I am not pleased to hear that people don’t like me and so on. What am I going to say? They have a right to say it because, in terms of results, this is not what we want.

‘But, if you do your job, you can see what I do. And if you are patient, and I know that you cannot be patient in this job, then you are going to be able to see what I can do. Not I, my team and my players.

‘But, for the moment, this is a tornado. I knew that. Is it easy to handle that? No. But I am ready for that.

‘So, this is my message for everyone. Fans, you guys, all the people, this is the reality. And we knew that before with the board when I came.

‘It is totally normal that my players need a bit of time. It is totally normal that my players can be confused in certain moments, because it’s a process.’

Some of this sounded fairly reasonable. But if Martin O’Neill could find a way of winning seven games out of eight in interim charge, why has Nancy found the formula so elusive?

Celtic have failed to keep a clean sheet in his seven matches – conceding no fewer than 15 goals in the process.

Nancy still insists that the 3-4-3 system he has imposed has not contributed to Celtic’s shocking results

The Celtic defence is all at sea as Elliot Watt scores Motherwell’s second goal

Curiously, he does not regard the 3-4-3 system that he has imposed as the fundamental reason.

‘I have a look at all the goals that we conceded, and you are going to tell me this is about the system?’ he said.

‘The only moment when we had an issue with the system is when we played against Roma, the second goal.

‘But, after that, it was not about the system. All the other goals we conceded were because we had many players inside the box and sometimes it was a ping pong game in transition.’

Nancy made some valid points in an extraordinarily passionate address, but there were some clear contradictions. He stated that he was not a ‘three-at-the-back guy’ when, evidently, he is.

In one breath, he claimed: ‘I’m not a guy with a “could have – should have” – only to then present a case that his side have not had their just deserts.

‘Judge me, no problem,’ he stated. ‘But have a look, analyse all of the games that we played if we should have won or lost the game. Do it! Because this is your job.

‘For the moment, I cannot talk. I shut my mouth because results aren’t good enough.

There is familiar disarray in Celtic’s backline as Ibrahim Said scores the opener at Fir Park

Nancy looked as if he had no answers on a night when his team were completely dominated

‘But I know where we are going. After that, if it is going to work or not, I don’t know. But I know we are going to do everything to do it. I am here for that.

‘After that, yes, I want to win every game. Yes, I want to win titles for Celtic. Yes, I want to create memories and a legacy here. Yes, I am going to die for this club, for sure.’

Nancy achieved too much in his time in Ohio to blithely dismiss him as a second-rater. He has also come into Celtic mid-season for a reason. With the squad inadequate and the fanbase at war with the board, the circumstances are hardly conducive to overnight success.

Nonetheless, losing to an average Rangers side at lunchtime is surely unthinkable if he is to stand any chance of lasting the course.

‘People have the right to not be happy. I understand that,’ he said. ‘I cannot buy time in my job. The only moment to buy time is when we win games. I know that. We have to win games.’