Celtic sack Wilfried Nancy after turbulent 33-day spell in charge

Celtic have dismissed head coach Wilfried Nancy following a dramatic downturn in form that culminated in Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Rangers, ending the Frenchman’s brief and troubled tenure at the club, Sport360NG reports.

Nancy departs after just 33 days in the role, making his reign the shortest by a permanent manager in Celtic’s history. The 48-year-old had been appointed on a two-and-a-half-year deal in early December, taking charge after the conclusion of the MLS season with Columbus Crew.

His arrival followed a strong run under interim boss Martin O’Neill, during which Celtic won seven of eight matches. However, performances and results deteriorated sharply under Nancy, who oversaw six defeats in eight games across all competitions.

The former Columbus coach became the first Celtic manager to lose his opening two matches, a sequence that was compounded by a 3-1 loss to St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final and a 2-1 league defeat away to Dundee United. That run marked Celtic’s first sequence of four consecutive losses since 1978, during Jock Stein’s era.

Although league victories over Aberdeen and Livingston briefly steadied the situation, further setbacks followed, including a 2-0 defeat at Motherwell and a heavy collapse after the break against Rangers.

In a wider shake-up, Celtic have also relieved Paul Tisdale of his duties as head of football operations. Tisdale, formerly of Exeter City and Stevenage, had been in the post since October 2024.

A short statement from the club confirmed the departures of Nancy, his backroom staff, Kwame Ampadu, Jules Gueguen and Maxime Chalier, and Tisdale, adding that supporters would be updated in due course.

Despite dominating Scottish football in recent years, winning 13 of the last 14 league titles, Celtic currently sit second in the Premiership table, six points behind leaders Hearts and level on points with Rangers but ahead on goals scored. Their haul of 38 points from 20 matches represents a significant drop compared to last season, with the team collecting 15 fewer points at the same stage.

Defensively, the decline was stark. Celtic conceded 18 goals under Nancy, more than they had allowed across the opening 24 fixtures of the campaign.

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton was critical of Nancy’s tactical approach, suggesting the coach lacked flexibility. “He was obsessed with changing the system and playing a very specific way,” Sutton said on Sky Sports. “The lack of adaptability was costly, and the number of goals conceded was reckless.”

Nancy had arrived in Glasgow with an impressive MLS pedigree, having guided Columbus Crew to the MLS Cup in 2023 and the Leagues Cup, while also earning MLS Coach of the Year honours in 2024. However, his final season in the United States saw Columbus slip to seventh in the Eastern Conference.

His exit from Celtic comes with a wider trend of poor results, with the coach recording just five wins in his last 20 matches across his most recent spells.

Prior to Nancy, John Barnes held the record for Celtic’s shortest-serving permanent manager, lasting eight months between 1999 and 2000.