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Pressure Mounts on Wilfried Nancy Following Celtics 3-1 Loss to Rangers

Despite Celtic Park emptying during the latter stages of their match against Rangers this afternoon, a thunderous chorus of boos rang out across the stadium following Celtic's 3-1 defeat to their bitter rivals.

In a match marked by a myriad of mistakes and individual brilliance, the pressure mounted on Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy, who has won just two of his eight games in charge of the Scottish champions.

Full-time.#CELRAN | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/cyeRJGU2wU
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 3, 2026

Yang Hyun-Jun would open the scoring in the 19th minute, and it looked like Celtic would be cruising to yet another Old Firm derby win. The 23-year-old South Korea international notched his second goal of the season, gliding past the Rangers' defence before rifling the ball into the roof of the net beyond Jack Butland, who will feel he should have done better.

But despite Celtic’s dominance in the first half, they failed to tighten their grip on the contest, leaving the door ajar for Rangers to force their way back into the match.

Early in the second half, Youssef Chermiti struck twice in quick succession; his finishes in the 50th and 59th minutes flew past Danish shot-stopper Kasper Schmeichel with alarming ease as the Rangers forward turned the game on its head.

For a 21-year-old Portuguese striker who has endured a torrid spell in front of goal—failing to score in 25 appearances for Everton and managing just once since his £8 million move to Rangers this summer—the brace felt significant.

Celtic pushed to get their head back into the game, but in the 71st minute, the game was put beyond doubt when 18-year-old Mikey Moore netted his third of the season to put Rangers 3–1 ahead and, without any real doubt, beyond Celtic’s reach.

In the closing minutes of the match, American manager Wilfried Nancy stood alone on his touchline in quiet desperation. His eyes darted across the pitch in hopes of a lifeline that would never come.

The 2024 MLS Coach of the Year has had an abominable start to life at Celtic—a life that may already be ending prematurely.

His record so far reads: two wins, six losses, 11 goals scored, 18 goals conceded.

In these eight games, he has lost to top of the table Hearts of Midlothian, the Scottish League Cup final to St Mirren, and now against fierce rivals Rangers.

His only wins have come against the bottom of the table Livingstone and a struggling Aberdeen side, who sit seventh in the Scottish Premiership table.

Fans are already demanding the American’s resignation.

Wilfried Nancy, time is up 👋🏽

An absolute embarrassment to lose six of your first eight matches as Celtic manager. pic.twitter.com/GonUZHoEFB
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) January 3, 2026

The 3-1 loss to Rangers now means Celtic’s rivals sit adjacent to them in the table, lower only due to goals scored.

It also allows Hearts to extend their lead at the top of the table. Sitting three points ahead of Celtic—and now Rangers—a win against Livingston later today would allow them to extend their lead to six points.

Should results continue on this trajectory, Hearts could be on course to lift the Scottish Premiership for the first time since 1960, becoming the first club since Aberdeen in 1985 to shatter the long-standing Rangers and Celtic duopoly on the title.