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The under-pressure manager insisted he did not fear losing his job, asserting, “I believe we are extremely close to changing our fortunes,” even after edging perilously close to the chopping block with a heavy loss to Rangers.

A Second-Half Meltdown Leads to Derby Loss

The Hoops had led the visitors at the interval but a disastrous second period let Danny Röhl’s team to pull level on points with the reigning Scottish Premiership champions. The former MLS manager, who was brought in from the MLS, has now overseen six defeats in his first eight games.

“There is unity with the board,” insisted Nancy.

Pressed on whether he was concerned, the 48-year-old said: “That’s not my focus. I concentrate on discovering solutions to help my team to excel on the fine details.

Protest Erupts

Celtic’s support voiced their fury – directed at the board and manager – by protesting at full time. The board are reportedly likely to bring back the former boss, who enjoyed a successful temporary stint previously, if Nancy departs.

“It’s the results [that leads to pressure]. And that’s the reality for the moment. But by saying this is the reality, it doesn’t mean that I am a defeatist guy. Absolutely not. What I mean we are really close, imminently close to reverse our form.”

“Really, Really Close”

Nancy continues to cling to the fact the side can perform strongly for 45 minutes at a time. Indeed, were it not for wastefulness in front of goal they would have been greater than 1-0 up. “There were positives other than the fact that we missed more goals,” he said. “I acknowledge that we lost, but I must remain fair.

“The performance we had at times was exceptionally high. That happened. I could not speak so positively if it was untrue. That is the reason, regarding outcomes, I noted this is the same story. Which is why I feel a change is coming to things turning around. Right now: the fine margins.”

“I saw many, many good things that we did, like today again. The issue now is sustaining it. My outlook would be different if it was not the case. This is why I am a big believer we will manage to turn things around.”

Opposition Reaction Response

Danny Röhl refused to contemplate a serious challenge in spite of what seemed like a huge result. “We take it game by game, and we can gradually build something here,” he said. “The faith in the group is excellent.”