Former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan is expecting “exciting times” with Wilfried Nancy in charge and says the Frenchman can make the Scottish champions “horrible” to play against.
Allan has been getting the lowdown on ex-Columbus Crew head coach Nancy from former Dundee United and Scotland forward Johhny Russell, who plays in the MLS for Real Salt Lake.
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“One of my good friends, Johnny Russell, plays out in America and has played against him many a time,” Allan said on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
“You’ve got to give him a little bit of time to see how he adapts to Scottish football.
“When I spoke to Johnny, I asked him what it was like to play against one of Nancy’s teams. The word he used to describe it was horrible, but it wasn’t horrible in the physical aspect, it was horrible in terms of them just exploiting you if you give them any sort of space.”
Allan is not expecting big changes to the personnel, or how Celtic play, in the short term. Nancy begins his reign with a top-of-the-table clash against Hearts on Sunday, before the Europa League visit of Roma and Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren.
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“What I’ve heard about Nancy and his Columbus team, it could be very exciting times for Celtic,” he added on the Scottish Football Podcast.
“But at the same time, it’s very difficult for us to sit here and compare the environment of the MLS to managing Celtic.
“So that’s the unknown because the environment is completely different from how it is in the MLS.
“I would be very surprised if he went in and made drastic changes. I just feel he’s got players who he’s going to have to rely on that are now performing.
“It is going to be a big, big week for Nancy and Celtic.”
