Celtic: Wilfried Nancy feels the heat ahead of the Rangers derby

Feeling nervous is normal for any old manager, and Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy has a cauldron boiling underneath him.

Just over four weeks since his appointment as Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor was announced, he has lost five of his seven games in charge.

As a result, Nancy is under enormous pressure ahead of Saturday’s derby match against Rangers, not least from his club’s fans.

After defeats to Hearts and Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership, Roma in the Europa League and St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup final, successive league wins over Aberdeen and Livingston appeared to have steadied the ship.

However, Celtic were outplayed in the game on Tuesday as Motherwell secured a deserved 2-0 win, and the anger at the Fir Park away end was evident throughout.

Celtic are three points behind leaders Hearts, while Rangers will join Nancy on 38 points if they beat Parkhead.

In a brilliant media conference ahead of his first major derby, Nancy launched an impassioned defense of himself and his team on Friday.

He gave an extraordinary response to talk about his methods, including one that lasted seven minutes, in which the match itself played second fiddle to the Frenchman and his job security.

“I know your job is to attack me, or ask a lot of questions, that’s okay,” Nancy said. “My job is to be a coach, your job is to ask questions.

“If you want to judge me now, you can do so. I didn’t get the results we wanted – it’s a fact, I can’t deny it.”

He called for patience, but immediately accepted that this was a high-risk job which meant patience was in short supply.

“This is just the beginning,” Nancy said. “Normally, we have four or five weeks of preparation for the new season. I didn’t have that.”

“The truth is, before I came, I knew that if I didn’t win games, I would get into trouble. That’s part of the job. I’m happy to be here and I know where we are now.”