Bullish Nancy shows no fear of being fired however Celtic fans show fury after loss.
The Celtic boss declared he did not fear dismissal, maintaining, “I believe we are really close to things turning around,” in the wake of moving dangerously close to the exit with a comprehensive defeat by Rangers.
Another Capitulation Leads to Derby Loss
The home side were in front the visitors at half-time but a collapse after the break let Rangers to move level on points with the defending league title holders. Nancy, who was brought in in December, has now presided over six losses in his first eight games.
“We are together at the club,” said Nancy.
Questioned about whether he was concerned, Nancy said: “It’s not on my mind. My focus is on discovering solutions to help my team to be good on small moments.
Protest Erupts
Hundreds of supporters voiced their fury – towards the hierarchy – by protesting at full time. The hierarchy would be most likely to bring back the former boss, who enjoyed a successful interim spell last year, if the Frenchman were sacked.
“Wins and losses [that leads to pressure]. So this is the reality for the moment. However by saying this is the reality, it doesn’t mean that I am a defeatist guy. Absolutely not. What I mean the turnaround is near, imminently close to turn things around.”
“Really, Really Close”
He remains focused on the fact Celtic show good levels for a half at a time. For instance, if not for wastefulness in front of goal they would have been more than 1-0 up. “The performance had merit aside from the fact that we haven’t scored more goals,” he said. “I know that we lost, but it's important to stay balanced.
“The level we had at certain moments was really, really, really high. That is a fact. I could not say that if it was different. That is the reason, regarding outcomes, I mentioned this is the same story. That’s why I believe we are really close to getting it right. Right now: the fine margins.”
“I saw a lot of encouraging signs that we did, like today again. However it’s about consistency. My narrative would not be if it was not the case. Therefore I firmly believe we will manage to fix this.”
Röhl’s Cautious Stance
Rangers manager played down talk of a championship push in spite of what felt like a huge result. “We take it game by game, then we can gradually build momentum,” he said. “The faith in the squad is excellent.”