Let Nancy ‘cook’ and judge at end of season – Henry

At the end of the season, Thierry Henry claims former Celtic assistant Wilfried Nancy should be given more time and that the club must “let him cook” before dismissing his replacement.

After taking over the side from the former Arsenal and France striker in 2021, Nancy spent the first 15 days in Glasgow playing as an assistant coach for Henry at CF Montreal.

Following a 2-1 defeat by Dundee United on Wednesday, the Frenchman was forced out after four defeats in as many games since taking over as interim boss Martin O’Neill.

However, Henry firmly supported the Celtic boss when he addressed the audience after receiving the Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025.

Henry told BBC Radio 5 Live, “I see people calling for him to leave.” It’s too early to say that, in my opinion, as a coach.

After leaving Colombus Crew for Major League Soccer (MLS) side, Nancy’s first managerial position in Europe saw defeats against title rivals Hearts and Roma in the Europa League before suffering a 3-1 defeat to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final.

Celtic are currently six points clear of Hearts in the Premiership with a game in hand following their most recent defeat at Tannadice.

The thing is that trying to impose your philosophy and identity at a club is challenging because I haven’t seen many games played in a different way, Henry said.

“I believe he can turn things around right now, but it’s too early.” He is a fantastic person and thinks brilliantly.

It appears to be not working at the moment, and it appears to be lacking in style. I’m biased because he’s one of my friends, though.

You don’t want any coaches to leave their positions too soon. I find it to be illogical.

Nancy was named MLS coach of the year in 2024 after leading the Columbus Crew to the MLS Cup in 2023 and the following year.