By Francis Onyach - Reporter
Kenya, Janauy 05 2026 - Celtic Football Club has officially confirmed the departure of head coach Wilfried Nancy after a brief and turbulent spell in charge at Celtic Park. The Scottish Premiership champions announced on Monday that they have terminated Nancy’s contract with immediate effect, bringing to an end a managerial tenure that lasted just over a month.
Nancy, 48, was appointed Celtic manager on 3 December 2025, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal after leaving Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew, where he enjoyed success, including winning the MLS Cup. However, his time in Glasgow quickly became difficult, with Celtic suffering mixed results that failed to satisfy supporters or club leadership.
During his short spell of 33 days in charge, Nancy oversaw eight matches, but lost six of them, including a damaging 3-1 defeat at the hands of fierce rivals Rangers in an Old Firm derby at Celtic Park. The heavy defeat, combined with earlier setbacks such as a loss in the Scottish League Cup final to St Mirren and domestic league defeats, intensified pressure on the French coach.
In an official statement released by the club, Celtic confirmed that Nancy’s coaching staff, assistants Kwame Ampadu, Jules Gueguen, and Maxime Chalier, will also be leaving their roles. In addition, head of football operations Paul Tisdale has departed the club as well. The club thanked Nancy and his staff “for their efforts and wishes them and their families well for the future.” Celtic added that further updates would be provided to supporters as soon as possible.
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The swift managerial change comes amid a difficult campaign for Celtic, who currently sit second in the Scottish Premiership, trailing league leaders Hearts by six points. The club’s leadership opted to act quickly following a disappointing sequence of results and mounting dissatisfaction among fans.
Nancy’s brief tenure will go down as one of the shortest and close to the worst in Celtic’s history, and the club will now begin the process of identifying a new head coach capable of steering the team back toward domestic success and stabilising their league campaign.
