'Too much, too soon' - Celtic captain Callum McGregor speaks out on Wilfried Nancy tenure

Nancy was sacked after just 33 days in charge with a record of six defeats in eight matches - including losing the Premier Sports Cup final to St Mirren - culminating in his dismissal after a 3-1 defeat by Rangers at Celtic Park on January 2.

Win, lose or draw, McGregor has often been the public voice of the Celtic dressing room but, notably, the midfielder did not conduct any media interviews while the Frenchman was at the helm as the campaign threatened to unravel.

However, speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the top of the table clash with Hearts at Tynecastle this Sunday, the 32-year-old accused Nancy of attempting to make too many changes too quickly following his arrival from Columbus Crew in the MLS.

"I think probably too much, too soon in terms of change," McGregor said. "You go from a team that is super-aggressive, on the front foot, for 10+ years, the whole time I've been here, playing a certain way, being asked to do things a certain way, defending in a certain way.

"Then you bring in the nuance of the league and playing in Scotland. My belief is that you get as much pressure on the ball as you can and try and press the game as high as you can. That eliminates a lot of the defending you have to do in terms of box defending.

"For me, it was just a little bit too much, too soon and a big change away from what the team had been. Not to say that it can't work but I think everyone is aware of the timing, no pre-season, and so many important games. It was a really tough situation to come in and have a game every three days where you're almost learning during the game.

"We all know that trying to learn in this environment is probably the harshest environment you can have. As human beings, when you take away that confidence, and players start to struggle with that... you have to go on the pitch and have confidence and belief in yourselves. Ultimately, when you lose games that does waver. We're all human beings at the end of the day so it does affect you.

"It is really unfortunate that it didn't work out but we have to draw a line under it now. There's been so many negative stories going about this season and there is so much positives to look forward to and so much to play for.

"The players have drawn a line under it. For everyone, externally as well, we have to draw a line under it and move forward because if we keep dwelling on it we aren't going to achieve what it is we want to achieve. The players are at peace with that. We know we've put ourselves in a difficult position but we're still in the conversation with a huge game to come on Sunday."

‘The players stayed together’

While Nancy was appointed as the permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers, his arrival followed a two-month period of success under interim manager Martin O’Neill. The 73-year-old Northern Irishman has now returned until the end of the season and has again turned results around although Celtic remain six points behind leaders Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

"The results are everything. That's obvious," McGregor added. "When you don't win games you question everything. Everybody wants to play well and perfom well, but if you don't win games you won't get time to perform. It's the opposite, especially here at Celtic. You have to win. You can always worry about perfomance after that."

McGregor praised the attitude of his team-mates during what was a time of crisis as they attempted to come to terms with the changes being enforced by Nancy.

"The one thing that did strike me about the whole thing was how much the players stayed together,” he stressed. “It was a comfort for me in terms of being in that dressing room and knowing what's round about me in tough times, and people getting around each other, working ever so hard and trying to fix the results and the situation we are in. The one thing to come out from my end in terms of the players is how together we are and desperate to do well for Celtic."

Asked whether the togetherness shown during Nancy's short-lived reign included the now deposed head coach, McGregor replied: "Oh yeah, of course. Listen, everybody is desperate to win and we're all together. You spend more time with the guys in here than you do with your own family back home. Naturally everyone is close and everybody wants the team and club to do well. Everyone is fighting every second of the day to improve. But I know from footballing experience in general, when things go wrong people start self-preservating but that is one thing I didn't see.

“The group was still together, still trying to help and fight and do well for the club. It's very easy to start finger-pointing and blaming everybody else. What I did see was a group that was together. From a players' perspective, coaches and manager will change, but that in there is the group that will help us be successful."