Premier Sports Cup Final: St Mirren – Celta
Event: Parque Hampden, Glasgow Term: Sunday, November 14 Original kick: 15:00 GMT
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Sounds and digital
Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy says victory in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren would “validate” what he is trying to implement at his new club.
But he insists he will have “many other” opportunities to prove himself to his fans.
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Nancy became the first Celtic manager to lose his first two games in charge as they were beaten by Roma in the Europa League on Thursday following last weekend’s Scottish Premiership defeat to Heart of Midlothian.
Many fans had left by the time the final whistle blew and those who stayed expressed their frustration at both the result and the performance.
Given the importance of Nancy’s first three games in charge, some fans were confused by the timing of his nomination.
The Frenchman understands what is happening at Hampden, but insists he is not thinking about the prospect of a third consecutive defeat.
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“For me? No,” he said when asked about the importance of winning a trophy.
“For my players, yes. And for the fans, yes.
“Yes, I would like to beat the trophy. I’m pretty sure that if we don’t win it, it will be difficult, because when we lose, it’s painful.”
“But then again, I’m a spirited person. So I hope we do it. And if it’s going to validate what we’re doing. But if not, I don’t want to think about it because, for the moment, I want to have a positive mindset and that’s my way of thinking.”
“I’m going to have many, many more moments to show up, do my thing and convince the fans that I’m the right guy.”
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Nancy inherited a team that had won seven of eight games under eventual coach Martin O’Neill, but stamped her own identity on the team from the start, switching to a back three against Hearts and Roma.
With some players shod into unfamiliar positions, Celtic have struggled to fit in in attack and were dismantled behind by Roma on Thursday in a dominant display in the first half.
Still, the former Columbus Crew head coach has spent enough to believe his system will work perfectly.
“I watched the game and obviously we had a difficult moment, but we also had good moments,” he said.
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“This match was important for me because it gives me the opportunity to set the standard for what we want to achieve and it was good to compare certain things. [with Roma].
“After that, the standard, we already have it. The desire to compete, the desire to train perfectly, the desire to improve, that is the standard.
“The desire as well as to do whatever it takes to perform well, we have it. We have to be better in terms of execution, but we are on the right path.
“For a week, I can see good things. Also we need to improve some things, but that will come.”
Given the two defeats leading up to the cup final, Nancy admitted there will be doubts, but dismissed the idea that there would be additional pressure on the game.
Announcement
“It doesn’t change,” he added. “A final is a final, it is not the same.
“Obviously the fact that we haven’t had a team in the last two games, mentally there can be a bit of uncertainty.
“But we are having a good discussion with the players and we know what we did perfectly, we know what we need to improve and everything is clear.”
