Wilfried Nancy did not make a great start to life as Celtic manager, losing 2-1 at the hands of Hearts at home in a top of the table clash. Naturally, the Frenchman has had to face a decent bit of criticism already. The fixtures are not going to get any easier for him though. Next up for the Hoops is a game against AS Roma in the Europa League.
The last thing that Celtic and Nancy need is to lose again and go into the Scottish League Cup final at the weekend on the back of straight defeats. It will only raise further questions about not only the appointment but also the board's sense of timing, bringing in a new manager before such important games when Martin O'Neill was getting results.
Nancy has come in with his own ideas though, with one of them being playing with three at the back. That has rarely worked at Celtic in the past, or even been attempted.
It looks like Nancy is ready to stick to his ways though. He started with that the formation against AS Roma as well, although the choice did not go down well with a large section of the support.
'Painful' - Celtic fans unhappy with Wilfried Nancy's decision vs AS Roma
One Celtic fan wrote when the starting XI was confirmed by the club: "Painful that line up."
Another Celtic fan added in the comment section: "Yang and Tounekti as wing backs…"
It looks like some people are already losing trust in Nancy with one writing: "Has no clue what he's doing. I hope I'm wrong but this 3 4 3 should wait till after the transfer window!"
Well, it is a results-based business, no matter how strongly Nancy feels about the performances of his teams. Sooner or later, he will have to start delivering wins. Otherwise, he might find out that things can happen very quickly in Glasgow. Just ask Russell Martin.