Martin O’Neill shares his instant reaction live on air after Celtic secure first win under Wilfried Nancy
Martin O’Neill was delighted that Wilfried Nancy could secure the first win of his Celtic tenure against Aberdeen on Sunday.
Celtic beat Aberdeen 3-1 at Parkhead, with late goals from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest finally giving the Frenchman something to smile about.
The Bhoys left it late and should have been well clear by half-time on the chances they had, but the former Columbus Crew head coach will not begrudge three points.
Nancy is still under massive pressure at Celtic, but Sunday’s victory has finally provided him with a platform to build on.
O’Neill remains the favourite to take over at Celtic should Nancy be sacked, but the 73-year-old has been supportive of his successor.
Martin O’Neill shares relief as Celtic win
Celtic’s decision to replace O’Neill has been questioned massively in light of Nancy‘s start.
When the former Aston Villa boss left Celtic Park, his side had won five consecutive games across all competitions, and had won seven of their eight under him.
Many suggested that the Northern Irishman should be kept on until the end of the season, and the reasoning behind that claim became evident very quickly.
| Celtic | Match stats | Aberdeen |
| 73% | Possession | 27% |
| 31 | Shots | 10 |
| 10 | On target | 2 |
| 4.53 | Expected goals (xG) | 0.73 |
| 7 | Big chances | 1 |
Nancy arrived at Celtic having never managed in Europe, and within days, was tasked with preparing his team for matches against Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts and Italian giants Roma.
His credentials have been questioned massively, but Sunday’s win was an example of the football he hopes to oversee.
Celtic created chance after chance against 11-man Aberdeen, and then even more when the visitors went down to 10 after Dylan Lobban had been dismissed.
“Big win, big, big win,” said O’Neill when asked by talkSPORT for his reaction on Monday. “It’s really important. When you’re not winning football matches, it doesn’t matter what club you’re at, pressure mounts on you.
“This was an enormous win, to get a couple of late goals as well. They deserved to win the game, but Aberdeen with 10 men, if they’d held on for a draw, that would have been pretty poor news.
“But they deserved to win and they got the late goals – well done them.”
Wilfried Nancy reacts to first Celtic win
Nancy was in a defiant mood following his first win in charge of Celtic. It can only be assumed that the Frenchman had a massive weight lifted off his shoulders, but he did not show it.
“Good for the players just to validate what they did because I know that it was not easy for them,” he told BBC Sportsound.
“They need a bit of time. I’m happy for the players. I’m happy for the fans, I’m happy for the club, I’m happy for the board.
“We chase anybody. The idea is to compete with ourselves. After that, the standings, we’ll see.”
Celtic will next travel to Livingston, where Nancy will hope to mark the start of a winning run.