Nancy points bullish verdict on Celtic stars as new boss makes undesirable historical past with heavy defeat to Roma

Wilfried Nancy says he is ‘not concerned’ after becoming the first Celtic boss to lose his opening two games in charge — and insists he is already seeing ‘a lot of good things’ from his struggling side.

The Parkhead outfit were booed off the field after being taken apart by Roma in the Europa League thanks to a Liam Scales own goal and two strikes from Irishman Evan Ferguson that secured the Italian team’s 3-0 win before half-time. 

Celtic, who trail Hearts in the Premiership, are now sitting in 24th place in the Europa League table, which is the final spot for a place in the play-offs for the last 16. 

They will certainly need more points from their January games away to Bologna and at home to Utrecht to have any chance of progressing.

But Nancy has more immediate problems to solve, with the Premier Sports Cup final taking place against St Mirren at Hampden on Sunday.

There was no sign of the tactics board or green trainers that attracted such derision in the wake of his debut loss at home to Hearts last Sunday, but the Frenchman attempted to look on the bright side despite a chastening loss.

‘I cannot tell you that the players didn’t try,’ he said. ‘They tried. I am not concerned, because I really liked the reaction (in the second half) and, for me, this is the most important thing. They deserved to score at least one goal to see, after that, if the dynamic could change.

‘The result is not what we want, for sure, but I saw really good things. I would like the result to have changed today, but the reality is that this is not the situation.

‘At this moment, it is a bit difficult as I believe my players deserve a bit more regarding the scoring of goals, but the idea is to rest and prepare for the final.

‘The belief of my players is really strong and this is the most important for me.’

Nancy urged fans who either booed the team or walked out early to give him time.

‘I respect that,’ he said. ‘The fans are really important for us. They are key. They know that and we play for them.

‘They are not happy with the situation and they show this, but I know where we are going even though the results are not what we want. I can see a lot of good things.

‘Patience is something important, but I know it is difficult in football. I believe in what we do and feel, shortly, things will go our way.

‘The reality is that we were not able to cope with the intensity. (The players) tried to do well, but the first half was difficult. We weren’t able to come out of the pressure. We were in a battle all the time.

‘As soon as we had a bit of time to play forward, we didn’t take the good decision, but it was not easy for my players. I really liked the second half and the reaction.

‘I don’t like to talk about luck, but the first goal we conceded — the own goal — didn’t help us. The attitude was good. The second half was better, but it was not enough.’

Arne Engels missed a penalty at the end of the first half with the scoreline already 3-0 and admits Sunday’s clash has become a game Celtic must win.

Nancy’s insistence on a new 3-4-3 system is suffering real problems and Engels insisted work has to be done behind the scenes.

‘Obviously, the system is different and we need to find some solutions,’ he said. ‘We need to see what we can improve on because we don’t have a lot of time for the final.

‘We cannot lose that. We know that. The fans know that. Everyone now is focused on Sunday and we need to look to ourselves to keep performing and do better.

‘It was not good enough, especially in the first half.’