What Nancy saw for first time ever during Celtic win

Wilfried Nancy <i>(Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)</i>
Wilfried Nancy (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
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Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has played down the sense of relief following his first win after four defeats.

The Frenchman led his team to victory against Aberdeen, after previous losses to Hearts, Roma, St Mirren, and Dundee United.

Despite Aberdeen being reduced to ten men, Celtic managed to net three times, preventing the anticipated 1-1 draw with late goals from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest.

Nancy said: "I’m happy for the players. I think that today, like I said before, we deserved more wins, but it didn't happen.

"Tonight, the players did really really well in terms of obviously the goal that we scored, especially the first one.

"I like it because we lost the ball and we were really good on the defensive transition.



"For me, this is important to see that. Especially also the goal that we conceded for the 1-1; playing against ten men was not easy, but they showed again resiliency."

Nancy emphasised that the win carries more importance for the players and the club rather than himself.

He said: "Players, yes, because they are in the arena.

"Not me, they play.

"So I know that they want to do well, I know what they want to do."

Despite the win, Celtic hit the post multiple times, which the new boss says he has never witnessed before.

He said: "I've never seen that in my life, but this is the way it is since I came.

"I think that we deserve more, but again, like I said before, I can see an improvement every game.

"Tonight, I’m happy for the players because they deserve it."

The late breakthrough against Aberdeen, along with relentless attempts on target, indicated the improvement Nancy has observed game by game.

Special mention was made of the Aberdeen goalie, Dimitar Mitov, whose strong performance between the sticks made his mark.

Nancy said: "Like the four losses that we had was the first time, and also today, the goalkeeper was outstanding.

"I don't know if he is all the time like this, but he was outstanding and also we hit five times the post."

In light of such challenges, many teams may have wilted, but Nancy praised Celtic's persistence, saying, "We kept going wave after wave after wave and I’m really proud of that."

Despite recent success, Nancy is aware of the challenge ahead, given the impressive form of table-toppers Hearts.

Regarding the ongoing points chase and expectations to lead, he said: "We chase anybody. We chase - the idea is to compete with ourselves.

"The standing we're going to control, it's the performance that we had tonight that gives us the possibility to come back and to come back and to come back.

"So we try to give our best, the way we play individually and collectively and after that we'll see where we're going to be in the future."

With Nancy's first win in hand, Celtic look set to keep building up momentum to establish themselves as strong contenders alongside the top-flight clubs.

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