Bullish Wilfried Nancy does not fear the sack however the Parkhead faithful show fury following defeat.

The Celtic boss insisted he did not fear the sack, maintaining, “The team is very near to changing our fortunes,” even after moving dangerously close to the exit with a convincing setback against Rangers.

A Second-Half Capitulation Leads to Old Firm Disaster

Celtic were ahead Rangers at the interval but a second-half capitulation enabled Rangers to draw level on points with the current league title holders. The former MLS manager, who was hired from Columbus Crew, has now presided over six defeats in his first eight games.

“The board and I are united with the board,” said the manager.

Pressed on the speculation, he responded: “I don’t think about it. I concentrate on working out methods to help my team to improve on small moments.

Protest On Display

Celtic’s support displayed their anger – directed at the board and manager – in their hundreds at Parkhead. The board are thought to be considering to return to Martin O’Neill, who steered the club during a temporary stint previously, should a change be made.

“It’s the results [that leads to pressure]. That is the situation for the moment. But when I say this is the reality, I am not saying that I am pessimistic. Absolutely not. The message is the turnaround is near, really, really close to change the narrative.”

Nancy’s Persistent Belief

Nancy remains focused on the fact the side show good levels for 45 minutes at a time. In fact, were it not for poor finishing they could have been more than 1-0 up. “The performance had merit aside from the fact that we missed our chances,” he said. “I acknowledge that we lost, but it's important to stay fair.

“The performance we had at stages was really, really, really high. That happened. I could not talk like that if it was not the case. But that’s why, in terms of results, I mentioned it's a repeating pattern. For that reason I feel we are nearly there to things turning around. Right now: small things.”

“There were a lot of encouraging signs that we did, like today again. However comes down to consistency. My message would not be the same. Therefore I firmly believe we will manage to get back on track.”

The Rangers Boss Stance

Rangers manager refused to contemplate a title charge despite what appeared to be a statement victory. “Step by step, so we can really build up something here,” he said. “The confidence in the team is excellent.”