Unbowed Nancy shows no fear of the sack but supporters unleash fury following loss.
The under-pressure manager declared he did not fear the sack, claiming, “The team is very near to changing our fortunes,” in the wake of moving dangerously close to being fired with a comprehensive loss to Rangers.
A Second-Half Capitulation Sees Old Firm Loss
The home side had led their oldest rivals at the interval but a second-half capitulation allowed Danny Röhl’s team to draw level on points with the current Scottish Premiership champions. Nancy, who was hired from Columbus Crew, has now overseen six defeats in his last eight games.
“There is unity with the board,” insisted the manager.
Pressed on whether he was concerned, he said: “That’s not my focus. My focus is on finding ways to help my team to excel on details.
Protest Erupts
Celtic’s support made their feelings clear – directed at the board and manager – by protesting at full time. The hierarchy are reportedly likely to re-appoint Martin O’Neill, who had a fruitful interim spell before Nancy was hired, should a change be made.
“It’s the results [that leads to pressure]. That is the reality for the moment. Yet when I say this is the reality, that is not a sign that I am pessimistic. Absolutely not. What I mean the turnaround is near, imminently close to reverse our form.”
“Really, Really Close”
Nancy highlights the fact his team play well for a half at a time. In fact, but for wastefulness in front of goal they would have been greater than 1-0 up. “There were positives aside from the fact that we didn't take more goals,” he said. “I accept that we lost, but I must remain objective.
“The standard we had at certain moments was of top quality. This is the reality. I could not talk like that if it was different. But that’s why, in terms of results, I mentioned it's a repeating pattern. For that reason I feel we are nearly there to a shift in fortunes. But for the moment: details, details, details.”
“We produced a lot of encouraging signs that we did, once more. However comes down to consistency. My narrative would not be the same. This is why I firmly believe we will manage to fix this.”
The Rangers Boss Response
Rangers manager played down talk of a title charge in spite of what felt like a statement victory. “Step by step, then we can really build up a challenge,” he said. “The faith in the team is outstanding.”
