It would be safe to say that most Celtic fans would not have even heard of Wilfried Nancy when he was first linked with the vacant Parkhead job. Back then, he was considered an outside candidate for the post, who had very little realistic chance of landing it. But things have developed since then and the Frenchman's appointment is only a matter of time now.
Martin O'Neill will take charge of the team against Hibernian this weekend. But it is widely expected that this will be his last game as Celtic manager, with Nancy arriving next week, if everything goes according to plan.
Nancy will have his work cut out though, and after how well O'Neill has done, there will be added pressure on him to at least match those levels. It is safe to say that a lot of fans are not convinced that this is the right move.
They are worried about Nancy's lack of experience. On top of that, only a select few are capable of dealing with the pressure of life at Celtic. Victor Wanyama's insight into the French manager will be seen as a positive though.
Celtic fans will love Victor Wanyama's Wilfried Nancy claim
While speaking to Telecom Asia, Wanyama said:
"When we had French coach Wilfried (Nancy), we had really built something nice together but when he left it’s like we started from zero again."
Also, while talking about some of the club's achievements under the management of Nancy, he said:
"I had very good moments at Montreal but some of the best moments we had included winning the Canadian Trophy by beating our rivals Toronto. This was such a historic moment for the club and I am glad I was part of it.
We also set several milestones for the club like picking the highest number of points in the team’s history as well as the most number of away wins ever. We brought in a new mentality into the team and this helped the club grow."
Of course, Alistair Johnston has experience of working with Nancy as well, from their time together at CF Montreal. One has to wonder if the club asked for his insight on the manager before deciding to push forward with the move.
Overall, there is no doubt that Nancy has proven himself in the MLS. That being said, it will be a whole different ball game at Celtic. And for the Frenchman, it will not be just about delivering success but also doing so in style. Not many managers are capable of doing that. Ange Postecoglou is someone he has been compared to. Let's hope he is nearly as good.