Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has delivered a typically blunt assessment of Wilfried Nancy’s short-lived 33-day spell in charge of Celtic, arguing that the Frenchman’s stubbornness, tactical inflexibility and alarming results left the club with little choice but to act.
Speaking in the aftermath of Nancy’s dismissal, coming just two days after Rangers 3-1 win at Celtic Park, Sutton described a tenure defined by chaos rather than cohesion.
Six defeats in eight matches, shipped goals at an unsustainable rate and a dramatic shift in playing style all combined to accelerate an already volatile situation.
“For Celtic to lose six out of eight games under him, and to ship as many goals as they did, it was kamikaze stuff really,” Sutton said.
“He was fixated on changing Celtic’s style, going to a 3-4-3 and playing in one particular way, and he just wasn’t adaptable.”
Sutton compared Nancy’s approach to the recent struggles of Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, also sacked today, albeit compressed into a much shorter and more damaging period.
In Glasgow, where patience is always thin, Nancy lasted just over a month - a spell Sutton described as almost unprecedented and almost a quarter of the time afforded to Russell Martin, axed in October as Rangers worst ever boss.
“Glasgow is wild as a footballing city,” he added.
“We saw Russell Martin lose his job at Rangers, but he had more time than Wilfried Nancy.
“I’ve not really seen anything like this.”
From a Rangers perspective, Sutton’s comments only reinforce how stark the contrast has been in recent weeks.
While Celtic unravelled under a manager unwilling or unable to adapt, Rangers have stabilised under new leadership in Danny Rohl, capped by Saturday’s emphatic Old Firm victory that ultimately sealed Nancy’s fate.
Sutton pinpointed the humiliation of a heavy defeat to Motherwell as the moment many Celtic supporters mentally checked out.
“The manner of that loss was humiliating,” he said.
“I think a lot of Celtic fans thought at that moment, that’s time for Wilfried Nancy to go.”
Even against Rangers, Sutton noted a familiar pattern.
Celtic played well in patches, particularly in the first half, going in 1-0 up at the break, but once again collapsed after the break - a recurring theme during Nancy’s brief reign.
“They showed their vulnerability in the second half and ended up losing the game,” Sutton said, admitting there was an inevitability about the manager’s departure.
While acknowledging that players must shoulder some responsibility, Sutton was clear that Celtic’s problems run far deeper than one coach.
He traced the issues back to the breakdown at the end of Brendan Rodgers’ tenure, poor recruitment, and structural confusion behind the scenes.
That view was underlined by the simultaneous departure of Paul Tisdale as Head of Football Operations.
Sutton was scathing and said: “Nobody knew what he actually was doing at the club,” suggesting Tisdale played a major role in appointing Nancy and overseeing a disastrous recruitment strategy.
Sutton believes Celtic now face a familiar crossroads.
Short-term stability versus long-term planning. His verdict?
Pragmatism must win. A return to Martin O’Neill, with Shaun Maloney alongside him, was described as the “safest” option if Celtic are to give themselves any chance in the title race.
For Rangers supporters, Sutton’s analysis lands with a sense of validation.
While Celtic tore up systems and spiralled into dysfunction, Rangers backed clarity, structure and adaptability - and were rewarded on the pitch.
Nancy’s downfall, as Sutton framed it, was not bad luck or timing. It was a refusal to bend in a city that demands results first and explanations later.