Wilfried Nancy insists humiliating Celtic stint was 'great' amid return rumours

9 Oct 2026 18:30 BST 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

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Wilfried Nancy insists that his humiliating stint at Celtic was a valuable experience and believes that he is not solely to blame for how things panned out.

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After weeks of protracted negotiations, with the Frenchman initially reticent to take over in the middle of the festive period, Nancy arrived at Parkhead in December. Just 33 days later, he was gone again.

The 49-year-old oversaw just eight games, six of which ended in defeat, and was sacked in January. This was despite the fact that he had built a reputation as one of the most tactically astute coaches in North America during his time in Major League Soccer.

Prior to taking the Celtic job, Nancy had turned perennial strugglers Montreal into a competitive team and then led the Columbus Crew to MLS Cup and a CONCACAF Champions Cup final. In Scotland, this counted for nothing.

The players were not receptive to his methods or ideas, and it came as little surprise when confirmation arrived that Nancy had become the shortest-tenured manager in Celtic history after getting the boot.

Nancy admits Celtic mistake

Celtic reappointed former interim boss Martin O'Neill to replace Nancy, and the 74-year-old would end the season with a domestic double to his name despite the circumstances. This only served to taint the Frenchman's ill-fated tenure further.

Speaking to La Presse, Nancy has now admitted that taking over in December was a "mistake." He believes that he might have had more success had he joined Celtic in a less hectic period.

"I knew the challenge was going to be difficult," Nancy explained. "Looking back, I think I made a mistake with the timing. I should have waited, and maybe gone in January.

"The period I was there was one of the most intense periods in the club's history. They had a lot of injuries, there were a lot of matches. To be honest with you, I'm still happy with how it turned out. Despite, of course, the fact that I got fired.

"With a lot of humility, I had quite a few options [in late 2025]. I could have stayed in Columbus. There were quite a few clubs that were really interested."

Nancy wanted to modernise the club, but he felt that his efforts were undermined by players who had gotten too "comfortable" under interim coach O'Neill.

He said: "The idea was to bring a fresh touch to the club, to modernise it a bit. Not to change the culture, because Scottish culture is Scottish culture. But to bring something fresh, something new.

"When I arrived, well, I'm not Martin O'Neill. I have different methods. However, I didn't want to change them much. Everything was going well in terms of the games. But as soon as we conceded a goal, we started to get nervous.

"I wouldn’t have had the same narrative if things hadn’t gone well in terms of performance. I don’t like ‘ifs’ or ‘shoulds,’ but the reality is that we lost games with 4.2 and 3.8 xG. We should have won more games.

"That’s why it’s still a little hard to accept because it would have been totally different. But at the same time, it was an experience to be had; it was great." Nancy added: "There were some players who were resistant because they were comfortable."

Nancy back to MLS?

Nancy believes that the perception of MLS weakened his position as Celtic manager. Had he arrived from a more prestigious league, he might have had an easier time instilling his philosophy and received more time to turn things around.

"I knew from the start it was going to be like that," he confessed. "People don't know much about MLS. I got questions where sometimes they thought I was just starting out. But the football people saw what I wanted to build."

Nancy has been frequently linked with a return to MLS since his Parkhead debacle. Any club with a vacancy would jump at the opportunity to bring him back to the US, but the Frenchman is understood to remain keen to prove himself in Europe.

He is reportedly gunning for a job in Ligue 1, but despite tentative interest from numerous French clubs, he has so far been overlooked. It remains to be seen if an attractive MLS project like LAFC could change his mind.

The Black and Gold sacked Marc dos Santos during the international break. After two very conservative managers in Steve Cherundolo and his former assistant Dos Santos, the franchise's supporters are begging for a manager who is willing to take risks.

LAFC have one of the most devastating attacking duos in all of MLS with Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min, yet their game plan for the past few years has been mostly to sit back and counter.

Under Nancy, the Columbus Crew played some of the most aesthetically pleasing football in all of North America. He could be the ideal coach to wake up the sleeping giant that is LAFC.