The Celtic chief executive conducted a rare interview with club media after Frenchman Nancy had been signed, sealed and delivered
Michael Nicholson insists new Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy will be backed in the January transfer window and beyond.
The Parkhead chief executive revealed the former Columbus Crew head coach was the first choice to replace Brendan Rodgers on a permanent basis.
Nicholson won’t be facing the media today at Nancy’s official unveiling at Lennoxtown.
But the chief did speak to Celtic TV to map out the short and long term plans – and explain the decision to snap up the 48-year-old from the MLS.
The Hoops board have been slated by fans for a blundering summer transfer window but the new man in charge has been told he will get help in January.
Nicholson said: “It all starts on Sunday (against Hearts) because we know that the challenge here is to come in, perform and win.
“But beyond that, there’s a project here that we’re all committed to. We want to develop the club and we want to perform.
“And in order to do that, we’re all going to get behind Wilfried from today, in the next coming days, the weeks and months and particularly in the transfer windows ahead, both in January and into the summer.
“We’ll do everything we can to support Wilfried and his team and the players to deliver success for our supporters.”
Nicholson is convinced Celtic have got the top man for the job and while the process took more than five weeks, the CEO insisted good things come to those who wait.
He said: “We believe in Wilfried and I think we wanted to get him started as quickly as we could.
“We saw that this morning, he was straight into it. He wanted to get in to the football because we know that we’ve got a massive game ahead on Sunday, a massive week ahead.
“I don’t think there’s ever an easy time to start with Celtic. We know the expectation, we know what we want to deliver for supporters, but we believe this was the right time to bring Wilfried in.
“We’ve been pushing very hard to get the process completed as quickly as we could. It took time.
“Good things do take time and we’re delighted to be able to bring him in today and in advance of the game on Sunday.”
Nicholas insisted Nancy was quickly identified as the top target – and the perfect fit for Parkhead.
He said: “When Brendan resigned, we always have to be aware of the market. We’ve been aware of Wilfried for a long time.
“He was our number one candidate going into the process. The more we looked into it, the more we saw that he aligned with what we need and what our vision for the club is.
“We want to develop the club, we want to develop players and we want to succeed, so there’s a real performance element.
“The more we looked at this, the more we felt that Wilfried was a perfect fit.
“We do talk about people getting it and there’s no doubt that Wilfried and his staff get Celtic.
“I think when we’re looking at the process, Wilfried is a good person. He shares our values, he’s dedicated, he’s humble, he’s integrity.
“He’s got a real passion for the game and you can sense his passion for Celtic, his excitement, his desire to get going.
“So that was really exciting to see. His style of football is the style of football that we want to see at Celtic. It’s aggressive, it’s attacking and we’re looking forward to seeing how that translates onto the pitch.”
Nicholson also hailed outgoing interim boss Martin O’Neill and his coaching staff of Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham after handing over on the back of seven wins out of eight.
He said: “It’s been fantastic. I was delighted for Martin to have the reception here from the Celtic supporters so we could all acclaim the great work that Martin, Shaun and the rest of the backroom team have done in the last few weeks. They’ve really stepped up for Celtic and they’ve handed over the reins and we’re in good shape.
“Tricky times as well, just by the nature of the fact that there are so many games and the new manager might not get as much time on the training field. There are certainly challenges there, but you’re obviously confident that Wilfried and the character that he’s got can handle that.”
