Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy hits back at tactics board criticism ahead of UEFA Europa League debut against AS Roma - 'I don't care'

Newly-appointed Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has quickly shut down comments from pundits and social media stemming from his use of a tactics board during his managerial debut for the club. The Frenchman oversaw a 2-1 defeat to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts in his first outing since he became the permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers. His side face AS Roma in the UEFA Europa League.

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Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy is quickly shunning the noise around his use of a tactics board during his debut in the dug-out.

The Frenchman - who was appointed as Celtic's new manager earlier this month from Major League Soccer (MLS) side Columbus Crew - suffered a 2-1 home loss to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts in his first match in charge on Sunday.

Defeat saw The Hoops fall three points behind their opponents in the table, but the fallout seemingly centred more around Nancy's use of a tactics board during the match to get his strategic moves across - similarly to when Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim used the same equipment in their Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town.

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Nancy was quick to shut down the critics, and also made reference to a pundit who questioned his choice of footwear, having sported a pair of Celtic-coloured Adidas shoes, which were recently released as part of a capsule collection between the club and the footwear manufacturer.

"People have the right to talk," Nancy said. "They might not like the way I dress, but I do not care. I am going to use the tactics board if I need it."

It serves as an eye-opening introduction to Scottish football and its unique pressures for Nancy, which both managers of Old Firm rivals, Rangers, have also had to navigate..

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Russell Martin swerved the club's traditional dress code of a suit and brown brogues, a fashion faux pas that did little to ingratiate himself with the Rangers supporters. His replacement Danny Rohl was keen to uphold the Ibrox tradition and avoid Martin's mistakes.

Nancy further explained his reticence towards external criticism.

"Every team that I have coached, I always told myself to cut everything out," Nancy said.

"On Twitter [X], I cut everything out. People have the right to say something, it is part of the job. I am not here to comment on everything."

Nancy, who only joined Celtic on December 3, is preparing for his first continental fixture as his side face AS Roma in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

The 48-year-old has spent the entirety of his coaching career in the MLS, leading both CF Montreal and Columbus Crew to major honours.

While steering Celtic in a European competition is a different game, Nancy has found success in continent-based tournaments, reaching the final of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, which is contested by teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

"It is an honour for me to play in the UEFA Europa League, but I have already been a runner-up in the Champions League in CONCACAF," Nancy said.

"I respect [Gian Piero] Gaspierini a lot because of the way his sides play and I am really excited for this challenge."

Celtic only had two days of training under Nancy before facing Hearts,. Despite the result, he insisted he was happy with the way his side played.

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"I feel good," Nancy said. "Obviously, for the first game, we only had two days to train the team. I think what I saw was interesting, we had some good moments with and without the ball, but we could have been better.

"I am not pleased with the result, but I am pleased with how we played, the way each player wanted to connect, so it was interesting for our first game.

"This is amazing. My job is to find solutions and prioritise. Don't forget that we have a good base already, so my job is to add certain things, offensively and defensively.

"If I had more time, we could have been better against Hearts, but I have been really pleased with the session we had this morning."

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