Credit: Premier Sports on X, Imago

Evan Lloyd

Wed 31 December 2025 16:00, UK

Wilfried Nancy is facing another crisis in his early Celtic tenure after his side lost at Motherwell on Tuesday.

Celtic lost 2-0 to Motherwell, with Ibrahim Said and Elliott Watt grabbing the goals on an embarrassing night for Nancy‘s team.

Kasper Schmeichel‘s awful mistake in the build-up to the second goal summed up the visitors’ performance, with the Dane misplacing a pass to Arne Engels.

Celtic beat Livingston 4-2 last week and looked to have turned a corner under Nancy, but Tuesday’s defeat has prompted the negative mood to return with a vengeance.

On Saturday, Celtic will host Rangers in the Old Firm derby, with the Frenchman’s job potentially on the line.

Celtic fans explode at Wilfried Nancy interview

After Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts lost 3-2 to Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby last week, Celtic had a chance to go level on points at the top of the table.

After so much turmoil at Celtic Park, things finally looked to be heading in a positive direction, with the Bhoys to have won three consecutive games if they could emerge victorious on Tuesday.

But from the off, Celtic looked lacklustre. Said’s goal came after just 14 minutes, and not once did Nancy’s team look like responding.

When the 48-year-old was appointed, Celtic were just two points behind Hearts and seven ahead of Rangers.

Should they lose the Old Firm derby on Saturday, they face the very real possibility of falling to third behind their Glasgow neighbours on goal difference, and as many as six points behind Hearts.

Yet Nancy seemed almost lackadaisical in his interview with Premier Sports after the game, insisting that is “not a surprise” that his side lost.

Celtic fans were outraged by his words, with one calling the interview “absolute garbage“, and claiming that he “does not seem to understand the size of this club in the slightest.”

Another called it a “car crash of an interview from a total clown of a manager“, while other Celtic fans said it was “a load of nonsense“.

Echoing the words of many, one X user said: “The fact it isn’t a surprise to our manager that we lost Motherwell is terrifying.”

Nancy makes clear January window plea

Celtic have a decision on their hands in the coming weeks, with decision-makers unlikely to want to buy players for a manager who will not be here by the summer.

Speaking on Tuesday, Nancy said: “The window is for everyone. This is a tool that we’re going to use, we need that, we know that. But again, like I said before, I had to make choices for what we wanted to do today.

“So my players played a lot so it is not easy for them, but yes, I think that we could have done better individually but this was not a good game individually and tactically we’re going to see what we need to do better”.

Celtic are already linked to several players, and it could be assumed that the MLS may be visited, considering Nancy’s previous role.

Whether the Frenchman will actually be there to utilise any new arrival, however, remains up in the air.