Two Reasons Celtic Picking Unknown MLS Boss is Right Call

Celtic are closing in on Wilfried Nancy as their new manager and it’s a move which makes a lot of sense.

The Frenchman held initial conversations with the Hoops last week as they aim to find a replacement for Brendan Rodgers who shockingly resigned last month.

Rodgers’ decision to leave the Scottish Premiership giants came as a surprise to fans but had seemingly been brewing behind the scenes.

And his exit brought with it a scathing statement from shareholder Dermot Desmond who accused the former Liverpool manager of being “self serving” in the build up to his departure.

Martin O’Neill was brought in as Celtic interim boss while the hunt for a permanent choice was started and there were many names put forward including the likes of Kieran McKenna, Craig Bellamy, Kjetil Knutsen and Robbie Keane.

All of those managers would have suited the club in different ways but the head of football operations, Paul Tisdale, moved to suggest a more left-field option in Columbus Crew gaffer Wilfried Nancy whose credentials in the MLS are quite significant.

Tisdale previously worked with the Frenchman’s assistant Kwame Ampadu at Exeter City and that was when the connection became apparent.

Wilfried Nancy can follow in footsteps of Celtic managers who had been unknowns

Some fans were left unimpressed while others were more willing to give the 48-year-old the chance to prove himself if and when he is finally confirmed and then paraded in front of the support.

Nancy makes sense for Celtic given his style and tactical masterplan, but will he work out? That, of course, remains to be seen. But there have been examples of relative unknown coaches who have done well in Glasgow in the past.

We at FootballBlog have analysed Celtic’s former managers and picked out two in particular who have settled well at Lennoxtown and became successful in their own right.

Even if they were certainly not household names before they started with the Hoops.

Ronny Deila at Celtic

Norwegian coach Ronny Deila was drafted in at Lennoxtown all the way back in 2014 and it was a move which took many fans and pundits by surprise.

The then-38-year-old was brought to Glasgow from his homeland where he had been managing Stromsgodset at the time. It was on a 12-month rolling contract for the boss which was the club’s go-to platform at the time but it suited as he had just taken over from a successful Neil Lennon after he had secured his third title.

Deila was a name largely unknown to the fanbase who had to rely on YouTube clips to learn more about their boss but he endeared himself to them rather quickly.

Despite a strong Rangers not being in the Premiership at the time as a result of their financial mismanagement, Deila won Celtic a League and Cup double in his first season.

The following year the Hoops won the Premiership title but were knocked out of both domestic cup competitions, including by Gers at Hampden in a dramatic semi-final.

Deila had won trophies and played his part in Celtic’s 10 in a row attempts and decided to leave the club on a high.

Is remembered fondly at Celtic Park and has since taken charge of New York City, Standard Liege and Club Brugge among other clubs.

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic record and time after Parkhead

Big Ange is a Celtic legend for his two year stint in Scotland.

The Australian created a mantra at his new club early doors in 2021 of “we never stop” and that was adopted by the support quickly.

He arrived as another unknown having bossed Yokohama F Marinos in Japan’s J League to the title in 2019 while he had also been in charge of the Socceroos as well as Brisbane Roar where he won titles, too.

Postecoglou’s arrival was slightly more sensible for Celtic, if only in terms of the links he had. The 60-year-old worked with Yokohama and that was a club which was a member of the City Football Group. Mark Lawwell – Celtic’s then head of recruitment – had been with CFG and earmarked Ange as the next boss in Glasgow.

Postecoglou demanded 100 percent effort from his squad with a constant attacking nature and it worked exceptionally well.

Celtic fans still consider Angeball as the most exciting brand of football they had seen at their club in a number of years and he won five trophies in two seasons including a Treble before he left for Tottenham Hotspur.

His time at Spurs brought the North London club a fifth placed finish before he won the club the Europa League.

He would be sacked despite the Euro winners’ medal as Spurs sat 17th in the Premier League.

Postecoglou would then go to Nottingham Forest before he was binned by the trigger-happy Evangelos Marinakis after less than 40 days at the helm.

Well known Celtic managers and struggles

Just because managers are known to fans, it does not always mean they will be successful.

For every winning Celtic boss like Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Rodgers, there has been a John Barnes.

The latter was one of English football’s biggest names and was given the chance to lead the club alongside Kenny Dalglish in 1999 but he flopped and brought the infamous defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle which birthed the infamous “Super Caley Go Ballistic Celtic Are Atrocious” newspaper headline.

Tony Mowbray was also a known name at Celtic having played for the club and won West Brom promotion to the Premier League in his management career before he was snapped up by the Bhoys.

His record was poor as their manager, though, and he won just 23 matches from the 45 he was in charge of at Celtic. That was a 51 percent win rate and for a club like Celtic, simply not good enough.

Lennon had been manager of the club previously and was brought back as caretaker when Rodgers left the first time in 2019.

Was given the role permanently after helping the club to another Treble but things soured during the Covid season in 2020/21.

He bungled Celtic’s 10 in a row efforts at the final hurdle with Steven Gerrard’s Rangers winning the league at a 25-point canter.

Lennon resigned soon after.