Henrik Larsson loves ‘tremendous’ manager who could be in line to take over at Celtic: ‘He’s a special man’
Wilfried Nancy is potentially on the verge of losing his job at Celtic once again.
The Frenchman had seemingly recovered somewhat from the dire four-game losing run at the start of his reign, but Tuesday’s defeat away at Motherwell has piled the pressure back on his shoulders.
Celtic face Rangers in a seismic Old Firm Derby on Saturday, and a win would be invaluable for the boss in terms of potentially working towards saving his job.
The Parkhead faithful have already made their feelings clear towards Nancy in recent weeks, and he needs to oversee a string of good results if he is to continue to fend off speculation that he may lose his job.
Henrik Larsson hailed odds-on favourite to take over at Celtic
Martin O’Neill enjoyed an excellent stint at Celtic prior to Nancy’s arrival, as the veteran boss helped to turn the team’s fortunes around during his brief spell in interim charge.
The Northern Irishman propelled the Glasgow giants back into the Premiership title race and helped to unify a fan base that has been at odds with the club hierarchy for several months.
The 73-year-old has now been installed as the odds-on favourite to step back into the dugout in the event that Nancy is dismissed, and that is something that Henrik Larsson would undoubtedly see as a major positive.
Larsson is a legend at Celtic, having scored over 240 goals across a seven-year stint there during his playing career.
The Swede worked with O’Neill for four of those years in what was a golden era for the club.
Larsson has previously lavished praise on his former boss, as he said back in 2004 that his four years of working under O’Neill had been “tremendous,” according to Celtic Quick News.
He even labelled O’Neill as a “special man” in 2006 and insisted that he had “never seen anybody” with the passion for football that he had (Celtic Wiki).
What has Wilfried Nancy said about his job ahead of Old Firm Derby?
Celtic fans are adamant that they have seen enough of Nancy, but he has retained his stance that he is not afraid of the board making a decision to sack him.
The former Columbus Crew chief was quick to stress that Saturday’s derby showdown will not define his reign at Parkhead, and insisted that he is “not thinking about” his future, with full focus on the team.
It’s certainly an admirable stance from the Frenchman at present, but the reality of the Old Firm is that it means so much more than other defeat.
The Celtic board have been reluctant to give in to the pressure from the fans so far since his arrival, but that could quickly change if the team are beaten by Rangers at the weekend.