Thierry Henry sends message to Celtic board as Wilfried Nancy sack decision made

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Premier League legend Thierry Henry believes Celtic should wait until the end of the season before judging new manager Wilfried Nancy. Former Columbus Crew boss Nancy has lost his first four matches since taking the reins at Parkhead to leave some calling for his dismissal already.

Celtic, for their part, are believed to be ready to persist with the new boss even after losing to Dundee United in midweek. The loss leaves the Bhoys six points adrift of league leaders Hearts, though they have a game in hand.

Henry knows Nancy well, having worked with his fellow Frenchman at CF Montreal. Former No.2 Nancy took full charge when Henry left the Major League Soccer side in 2021 and impressed in Canada before moving south of the border and leading Crew to MLS Cup glory in 2023.

"I see people calling for him to leave the place," Henry told BBC Radio 5 Live . "As a coach myself, I think it's too early to say that. Let him work and let him cook and judge him maybe at the end of the season."

Arguing it can take time for a new boss to get his approach across, he added: "It's not working at the moment and obviously it doesn't look great. But he's a friend of mine, so I am going to be biased. You don't want any coach to lose their job that early. It doesn't make sense to me."

Nancy lost his first match in charge against title rivals Hearts, and then saw his Celtic side beaten by Roma in the Europa League and St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final. An early goal from Daizen Maeda on Wednesday looked like kick-starting his reign, only for Dundee United to hit back with two goals in four second-half minutes.

Former Scotland striker Kris Boyd argued the players needed to take responsibility after the latest reverse. "I don't think for one minute that Wilfried Nancy went in and changed things at half-time. The first half they were brilliant," he said on Sky Sports .

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Next up for Celtic is a home league meeting with Aberdeen. The Dons are unbeaten in their last seven league games but lost at Sparta Prague in the Conference League on Thursday to finish 35th out of 36 teams in the league phase.

Celtic and Aberdeen last met in the league back in August, when goals from Benjamin Ngyren and Reo Hatate gave the Glasgow side all three points. However, it was Aberdeen who came out on top when the clubs faced off in last season's Scottish Cup final, winning 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Hampden Park.

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.