'Don't like to talk': Celtic's plan for free week as two January priorities become apparent

The landscape could have been altogether different for the 48-year-old Frenchman had late goals from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest not secured a 3-1 win on Sunday over ten-man Aberdeen. Another failure to win - even at such an early stage in Nancy’s tenure - could have had catastrophic repercussions.

Time will tell how pivotal those last 15 minutes were at Celtic Park. In the immediate term, the Premiership champions remain in second place, six points behind leaders Hearts with a game in hand. They have stopped the rot of four straight defeats under the new boss and have some positivity to work with this week.

Nancy will no doubt relish some time on the training ground. Celtic are not back in action until Saturday when they travel along to the M8 to face bottom side Livingston. It will be the first time since the manager’s arrival that he is able to have a sustained period to coach his players.

Against Aberdeen, Celtic showed signs that they are getting to grips with the 3-4-3 formation that Nancy is so keen to deploy. In an attacking sense, they had 31 shots on goal and dominated the game from the off. Had Johnny Kenny been more ruthless in the No 9 position, the game would have been out of sight even before Dons defender Dylan Lobban was sent off in first-half stoppage time for a professional foul on Daizen Maeda.

Celtic’s big failing at the top of the pitch is obvious. They need at least one new striker in January, possibly two. Kenny works hard and gets into good positions, yet he does not have the killer instinct of a top Premiership hitman. In reserve, Shin Yamada looks just as toothless, while Kelechi Iheanacho remains blighted by injuries.

On a more positive note, Maeda appears to be rediscovering his form on the left wing. Celtic were at their most devastating down that flank. Keeping him in January feels important. The Japanese wanted to leave in the summer but there have been suggestions he will remain for a further six months.

Nancy heartened by Celtic’s improvement

What Nancy needs to fine-tune this week is how his team reacts out of possession. They are yet to keep a clean sheet under his watch and still look vulnerable defensively. Defenders - central and wide - will surely also be on the January shopping list given Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston are injured until at least the spring. Celtic cannot hobble on with the current backline.

What is buoying Nancy is the rate of development from his team. He believes they are getting better as each game passes. “I had seen a lot of improvement in every [previous] game; we just didn’t have the outcome,” he said. “We didn’t have a full performance, but in all the games we had at least one really good half and on Sunday we had a complete [performance].

“We had difficult moments because the game is like a movie, so it’s dynamic like that. I liked the way they score went but I also liked the courage they had. When I talk about personality, it's about showing it in the difficult moments and my players did that. They did it in the past, they did it two games ago, they did it three games ago - but they didn't have the outcome.

“That is so difficult to control. We should have had more wins, but every time I was able to see improvement. That’s why today I’m really happy for my players.”

There will be no festive break for Celtic. In the past, they have been so clearly superior to the rest that perhaps a bit of turkey and some pigs in blankets could be consumed. Maybe even a mince pie. But the desire not to be Christmas puddings is at the forefront of Nancy’s mind. The win against Aberdeen will count for so little if they don’t back it up on Livingston’s plastic pitch.

“After each game, I take time – two or three hours sometimes – to watch it back action by action cycle after cycle because I want to be really specific,” continued Nancy. “I don't like to talk; I like to show things and since the beginning when I came here after our first game I showed them clips where we did really good things but the outcome was not there.

“Every time I was able to show them good things and I was also able to show them things that we need to improve. The idea was to accept that we're going to have difficult moments. Nine games in 27 days, this is so difficult. This will be the first week with only one game.

“When I came in, I put myself in the shoes of my players: new coach, new methodology, and where they had been winning, suddenly they were losing.  It's totally normal that something like this happened but my job was to show them what they did well  and what we need to improve – to be honest with them.

“Today we have the outcome. We deserved more wins but today was the day. The last game [against Dundee United] we lost it in three minutes, but I don’t think we gave everything during the set-piece. That’s the kind of fact I like to show my players to see where we are and where we want to go.”

After Livingston, the fixture list looks very challenging with in-form Motherwell away before a January 3 date with Rangers. Nancy and Co need to use this week very wisely ahead of the next acid test.