Wilfried Nancy: Celtic boss pleads for time after faltering start as Old Firm test awaits

Scottish Premiership: Celtic v Rangers

Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, 3 January Time: 12:30 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland & Sounds, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app, highlights on BBC Scotland & iPlayer from 19:15

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy launched a passionate defence of his methods and stressed he will need to be given time to succeed at the club during a remarkable media conference.

The Frenchman has lost five of his first seven matches in charge after taking over from interim boss Martin O’Neill at the start of December.

Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at Motherwell piled further pressure on the former Columbus Crew head coach, who has faced criticism from Celtic supporters.

Nancy’s side are three points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts and three ahead of Glasgow rivals Rangers, who they host on Saturday.

Nancy insisted: «The board is with me, the club is with me, and the players are with me.»

And he says the «context» of his arrival must be factored in when judging his reign to date.

«As you know, I need time,» he said. «Give me time and you’re going to see what I do. You can already see what I did before because I didn’t start yesterday.

«I’m going to be a liar if I say, ‘everything is happy, everything is good’. No, it’s not the case, but I knew that before.

«That’s why I’m calm during all the questions you ask me. I’m not pleased to hear people don’t like me, but they have the right to say it because in terms of results, this is not what we want.

«Tomorrow is a big game. But the context is that I’ve only had 13 training sessions with my team. Usually we have four weeks of pre-season.

«It’s totally normal that you guys kill me. I’m fine with that because I know where I want to go. Judge me in a few weeks or months. If you want to judge me now, you can do it. I didn’t have the results we wanted – it’s a fact, I cannot deny that.»

Nancy says he will «die» to achieve his goals at Celtic and believes results under him have not reflected performances.

«It’s totally normal my players need a bit of time and are confused at certain moments,» he explained.

«It’s a process. I don’t like the word ‘process’ because people think I am going to hide behind ‘process’, but it’s true.

«Judge me, no problem, but have a look at the games since I have been here and analyse if we should have won or lost. Do it.

«I am a clear guy. For the moment, I cannot talk because results are not good enough. I shut my mouth and I take it, but I know where we are going. After that, if it’s going to work or not, I don’t know. We are going to do everything to do it and I am here for that.

«Yes, I want to win every game. Yes, I want to win titles. I want to create a legacy here. I am going to die for this club, for sure.»