Wilfried Nancy unconvincing amid claims Rangers clash will not define his Celtic future

Unthinkably, a defeat at Parkhead this weekend would be the new manager’s sixth loss in eight matches since taking over at Celtic. His fifth, against Motherwell, might have been the worst yet. Even Nancy struggled to draw any positives from a night where the visitors were second best from start to finish, falling to a goal in each half from Ibrahim Said and Elliot Watt.

The Frenchman stressed again that he is confident he can turn things around. There was some positivity from recent back-to-back wins over Aberdeen and Livingston but things unravelled badly against Motherwell. Rangers can now draw level on points with their rivals on Saturday with a win. Hearts remain three points ahead of Celtic at the top having played the same number of games.

“Each game for me is important and for the team is important,” Nancy said, when asked about the upcoming clash with Rangers. “I don't think about my future. I think about what I do now and what I need to do to improve the team and what we need to do also to improve the team.”

January cannot come quickly enough. Nancy expects to be given the backing he needs to make an extensive overhaul of the squad. “We are working on that,” he said, when asked specifically about recruitment. “This is the idea.”

But there has to be huge doubt over the manager’s long-term future once again. While some of the noise surrounding him had died down in recent days, the defeat at Fir Park and especially the manner of it felt like a huge step back. “It was a tough night," he conceded. "We faced a good team, who are collectively really good. I knew that today could be a bit difficult because of the way we play and the way we are at the moment. I think the first half they unbalanced us at certain moments, we were in between when to press and when to be patient. We lost the first goal from a throw-in and a cross. We can do better on that one. We did not create much.

"In the second half we were more collective, this is what we did better. We had few opportunities but it was difficult to score."

He revealed he had always intended to take Kieran Tierney and Daizen Maeda off at half time, when Celtic were trailing to a header from Said. Paulo Bernardo was also withdrawn.

"It was planned," he said. "They were tired. They have run a lot, they have done the most sprints since we have come in. We were concerned physically with that. I do not want them to be injured."

Reminded it was now five losses in seven since he joined from Columbus Crew, he said that it wasn't something he wanted, obviously. "I'm confident about where we want to go,” he said. “The reality is, where we are at the moment, this was a tough game, it was difficult for us. But I think that we're going to get better."

They are not words likely to inspire confidence. The way he was speaking felt almost defeatist, as if losing at Motherwell was not the big deal it clearly was. After all, the hosts, good team though they are under Jens Berthel Askou, had not celebrated a home win over Celtic since 2013.

Nancy was reminded that Motherwell have a tiny budget when compared to the Parkhead club. “I understand that,” he said. “But for me, there is a context, there is a fact. This is the reality.

"I'm not saying that I'm not an underdog," he added. "I told you that before. When we play a game, we want to win the game. But the reality at this moment is, for this game, we didn't have a good game.

"After that, we can talk about budget. Yes, I know where I am. I know the club that I work with. I know that perfectly. I can understand the concern. But at this moment, this is the reality."

The reality is Celtic risk falling to third place on Saturday if they lose by more than three goals against Rangers. Fans are revolting and the toxicity will be at another level if Celtic play as poorly this weekend as they did here. Asked if he saw any signs of progress in the game just finished, he sought to come up with something. It was not convincing.

“There was a moment,” he said. “But again, this is not enough, regarding what we wanted to do. This is the first time since I'm here that we struggled a lot. And this is the reality for this game. Previously, we had good moments, good opportunities. We are working to be more consistent. And we're going to do certain things in the future to be also more consistent. But for the moment, yes, I can understand the concern. But this is the reality."

Asked if he understood the enormity of his first Old Firm game, which probably couldn’t come at a worse time, he said he did. “It’s a rivalry,” he said. “Celtic against Rangers. I know that this is a rivalry game. I know what it means. And we play this game. I do this job also for that, to play this kind of game. And we're going to play with passion. We know what it means to play a rivalry game. So again, tonight is tonight. We're going to have more days to prepare for the game, and to rest also, and to face this team.”

When asked if it was a must-win game, he stressed that it was. But then there’s already been a few of those, including a cup final against St Mirren, when Celtic failure has seemed unthinkable.