Celtic 1-3 Rangers: Wilfried Nancy will be fortunate to avoid sack after Old Firm defeat says Chris Sutton
Wilfried Nancy lost his sixth game in eight when Celtic were on wrong end of an Old Firm comeback against Rangers; Youssef Chermiti scored to cancel out Hyun-Jun Yang's opener before the Rangers striker added a second and Mikey Moore a third; Rangers moved level with Celtic in table
Saturday 3 January 2026 20:53, UK
Chris Sutton said Wilfried Nancy will be lucky to survive as manager and called for Celtic to be decisive after the club's Old Firm derby defeat to Rangers ensured six losses in eight games for the Frenchman.
Nancy got his first taste of Old Firm action after an impassioned pre-match press conference where he called for time and patience following a record-breaking poor start to life at Parkhead. Despite Celtic taking the lead in a dominant first half through a superb Hyun-Jun Yang strike, Rangers rallied to win the game 3-1.
Youssef Chermiti scored the first two goals for the visitors before Mikey Moore added a third, slotting past Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who was slow to get down to make the stop.
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It is the first time in 152 consecutive home league games that Celtic have scored first and failed to win the game.
A Celtic home loss also means it is the first time since 2020 that the Hoops have lost back-to-back games to Rangers at Parkhead. Celtic are now on a run of five Old Firm derbies without victory. There were protests directed at the board following the game, in front of the stadium.
Speaking after the match, Sky Sports pundit Sutton said: "I didn't think this was a Rangers team at their very best. But for Wilfried Nancy - one way, Wilf! It's not working. I think he'll be fortunate to survive this.
"People say, 'well, it's not Wilfried Nancy's fault', and maybe it isn't, but the club have to be really decisive.
"They can't hang around in terms of getting players in, but if they want to stick with Wilfried Nancy, and I'm not so sure that they should, because there's probably a guy out there where they'd stand a better chance of winning the Premiership with.
"If they're going to stick with him, they have to back him with players who can play the roles which he wants them to play. (Anthony) Ralston has struggled desperately. Celtic need a new goalkeeper; they need a couple of centre-halves.
"They certainly need a centre-forward. And that's the least of what they need. But they need to back him if they are going to back him, in terms of bringing players in this week who will be a good fit. But can you trust the club to do that based on the recruitment over the summer?"
Nancy record 'embarrassing' - but not all his fault
Sutton pulled no punches on Nancy - but admitted he should not shoulder all of the blame for Celtic's slump.
"I do have a bit of sympathy for Wilfried Nancy," Sutton said.
"It's a bit like Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. If this was the way that Wilfried Nancy coaches and plays with the back three, whoever had the conversation with him, in terms of, you're going to come into the club, we're going to back you, what are you going to do, Wilf? And he says, I'm just going to tear everything up. I'm going to go with the back three.
"You hear Auston Trusty say that the players aren't buying into that, and aren't able to adapt. That's down to whatever you say, that's down to the level of player, and the level of player isn't at the club.
"They were struggling under Brendan Rodgers. They weren't playing well, and they weren't playing brilliantly under Martin [O'Neill]. I don't care what anybody says, but he was finding a way to get results.
"But Wilfried Nancy's justification in playing this way was always going to be if he was getting results. It's okay playing for patches, but to lose six out of eight is embarrassing for any Celtic manager."
Boyd: Nancy 'insecure' - but players to blame too
Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd thinks Celtic should be patient with Nancy, instead calling out the players.
"Nancy pleaded for time," Boyd told Sky Sports. "I think right now it does look as if there's an atmosphere here, but I wouldn't be making any kneejerk decision if I were Celtic. Patience is a virtue.
"(Benjamin) Nygren was the only player that started today who hasn't been successful for Celtic over the past. The players have chucked it.
"I might be wrong, but I look at the way from the very first minute Wilfried Nancy arrived at the football club, bringing them over, the tactics board, calling over the captain every 15 or 20 minutes in a game, trying to go through things as if he's treating them like schoolkids. It was too much too soon, with a limited amount of time on the training pitches.
"That's an insecurity in a manager. If he had gone in there and said I'm sticking to my principles. This is the way I play. He should have looked at that group of players and thought, I can't play this way. He's probably getting to the stage, in my opinion, where he must be thinking, I need to change a little."
Nancy: We deserve better - I see many good things
A defiant Nancy told Sky Sports that he feels his team deserves better in terms of results.
"For me, nothing changed," he said. "My focus is to help my players to be better, help my team, my staff to be better and to find a way to turn things around. Because, like I said, we are really close to doing good things, but in terms of what we concede goals, sometimes it's difficult.
"I want to win games. We all want to win games. But this is the reality for the moment. But I see many, many good things. That's why the frustration is here, because we deserve better. And we have to stay together and everything's going to move forward."
Asked about the post-match protests and whether he had a message for the fans, Nancy said: "We keep working. Keep doing what we want to do. And the things will work out for us.
"I saw enough except the fact that we haven't scored more goals. And again, I know that we lost, but I have also to be objective.
"The level that we had at certain moments was really, really, really high. This is the reality.
"And I would not talk like that if it was not the case. But that's why, in terms of results again, this is why I said that this is the same story.
"We all know that, and that's why I said that we are really close to things turning around. But yeah, for the moment: details, details, details."
Rangers 'silenced the lion's den'
Boyd was unimpressed with Rangers before the break, but praised Danny Röhl's side for their comeback.
"I said at half-time it was a bang-average performance from a bang-average team. You've got to say, they've come to Celtic Park and they've silenced the lion's den. In the second half, they were outstanding," said Boyd.
"If there's ever been a game of two halves, that's it. Röhl corrected his mistakes at half-time and looks like he's got that Rangers team playing for him. The other manager looks as though he'll be on a flight back home tonight."
