Celtic make ‘huge’ Wilfried Nancy sack decision – ‘got it horribly wrong’
Wilfried Nancy has been sacked by Celtic just over four weeks after his permanent appointment as Brendan Rodgers’ replacement.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that despite initially being reluctant, results have forced the board’s hand.
Celtic fans called for Nancy to be sacked in the immediate aftermath of their 3-1 defeat against Rangers at Parkhead on Saturday afternoon.
The boss lost six of his eight games in charge of the Hoops, with their Old Firm rivals now level on points despite a major disparity earlier in the season.
As a result, Nancy has been dismissed from his role with immediate effect, despite high hopes that he would be the man to lead them into the future.
Celtic board accept their mistake in Wilfried Nancy sack reveal
Brown told Football Insider on 16 December that Celtic were not considering sacking Nancy so soon after his appointment regardless of a poor start at Parkhead.
However, the former scout who has a wealth of experience working closely alongside elite-level managers including Sir Alex Ferguson for over a decade at Man United, insisted that the board are now prepared to accept they made a mistake.
“Celtic have sacked Nancy,” he told Football Insider.
“There’s a precedent for it now, these early sackings, and if clubs think things aren’t going to get any better or haven’t gone as they expect, they will pull the trigger.
“Celtic have decided to hold their hands up and say they got it horribly wrong and make the change.
“At first I expected they would give things time to settle, but when you look at it with the fans turning on him and the results the way they have been, it’s not good.
“Martin O’Neill was in there and things were going well, they appointed Nancy and it’s gone off a cliff, so they will look at the manager as the reason for that.
“The time has come to admit things didn’t go as they expected and they have made a huge change with the hope of getting back on track.”
Who could be named as the next Celtic manager?
With Nancy finally being dismissed from his role, Celtic have begun making plans for who their next manager will be should they pull the trigger.
Shaun Maloney is the new favourite for Celtic, with odds being slashed on the former Hoops player taking the reigns as their next permanent manager.
The 42-year-old has previously had a tough start to his managerial career, as he was quickly given the boot at Hibernian before later being sacked by Wigan in March 2025.
Meanwhile, Martin O’Neill had been the favourite to take over at Celtic Park given the success of his interim spell between Rodgers and Nancy’s tenures.
O’Neill has since revealed he would have been happy to remain in the dugout for longer, but the club made the decision to move forward with appointing Nancy.
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