Michael Stewart details ‘the reality’ of Wilfried Nancy’s situation amid intensifying Celtic sack news
Wilfried Nancy is in serious danger of entering the Celtic record books by becoming the quickest head coach ever to be sacked.
Celtic lost 3-1 to St. Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final on Sunday, marking their third consecutive loss under the Frenchman.
The 48-year-old arrived at Celtic Park less than two weeks ago, but now finds himself in a serious spot of bother.
Celtic players do not appear to be responding well to Nancy’s instructions, as has been plainly evident across the three games.
Martin O’Neill has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Nancy, after the Northern Irishman led the Bhoys to seven wins from his eight games while in charge on an interim basis.
Michael Stewart does not hold back on Wilfried Nancy ‘alarm bells’
Brendan Rodgers resigned as Celtic boss in October, after a spectacular fall-out between the head coach and the board.
The former Liverpool manager had led his team to several disappointing results to start the season, although fans would likely gratefully welcome him back at this point.
Under O’Neill, Celtic had not always looked convincing but their shape and their solidity were consistent, and carried them through.
| Celtic | Under Martin O’Neill 2025-26 | Under Wilfried Nancy 2025-26 |
| Wins | 7 | 0 |
| Draws | 0 | 0 |
| Losses | 1 | 3 |
| Scored | 19 | 2 |
| Conceded | 6 | 8 |
Those qualities have been thrown out of the window under Nancy, with eight goals conceded in just three games and little idea going forward.
Speaking on the Scottish Football Social Club on Monday, former Scotland international Michael Stewart was clear on Nancy’s situation.
“He comes across like a very likeable guy,” he said. “You can tell he’s very affable, a pleasant person, but there are some real alarm bells going off.
“Stan [Petrov] hits the nail on the head in regards to the pressure. That is just the nature of the beast, that is the reality. The reality is that he is under pressure because he’s in uncharted territory here.
“There’s no Celtic manager who’s lost their opening two games, he then goes into the cup final and he loses that, his third game, and the cup final, and everything that comes with it.
“All the other things that are surrounding the club, which are nothing to do with him, but they add to the pressure. So that’s the reality, and until he starts to win games, that pressure is only going to intensify.”
Nancy could enter unwanted record books
Former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou broke the record for the shortest reign at a Premier League club earlier this season, when he was sacked by Nottingham Forest after just 39 days.
The Australian was handed eight games at the City Ground, but did not win any of them.
Nancy would have managed nine games at Celtic by the time he has spent 39 days in charge, and at the Frenchman’s current rate, he may well find himself in a similar situation to Postecoglou.
Of course, there have been shorter managerial reigns in football – incredibly, Leroy Rosenior spent 10 minutes in charge of Torquay United in 2007 after the club was taken over in the moments after his appointment.
But for on-pitch performance, it does not get much worse. Should Nancy want to avoid the embarrassing title, results must improve rapidly.