Danny Rohl has succeeded where Wilfried Nancy has failed… that’s why it’s all over for delusional Celtic boss

When Wilfried Nancy spoke last Friday afternoon, clips of what became an incredible rant soon started doing the rounds on social media.

‘It is totally normal that you guys (the media) kill me,’ said Nancy in an impassioned defence of his own credentials. ‘I am totally fine with that. Judge me in a few weeks, a few months.’

It is always the preserve of any failing manager to blame the media and some sort of perceived agenda against them.

After yesterday’s Old Firm capitulation brought a sixth defeat in eight games for the Frenchman, an old gag sprung to mind. The only problem journalists have created for Nancy is to print his results.

Even the most savage wielding of a pen by the most blood-thirsty wordsmith in the land would not inflict as much damage on the Celtic boss as he continues to inflict on himself.

He can point the finger at reporters all he wants. His demise has been rapid, spectacular, and may have been entirely avoidable had he shown a little more humility.

Rangers boss Danny Rohl celebrates a victory that has dragged his team back into the title race

Youssef Chermiti takes the plaudits after scoring two of Rangers’ three goals at Celtic Park

Arrogant, delusional, and hopelessly out of his depth, Nancy will go down as the worst manager in the club’s history, as and when they finally put him out of his misery. That is how he will be judged.

He claimed that Celtic ‘deserved more’ than a 3-1 defeat. Plainly, they didn’t. That was just the latest excuse from a manager who must surely know his time is up.

For 45 minutes yesterday, Nancy’s team played fairly well. They were on the front foot, creating chances, and led 1-0 thanks to a goal from the excellent Yang Hyun-jun.

Had the likes of Johnny Kenny and others in the Celtic forward line not been so wasteful, they could have been two or three goals up.

What unfolded in the second half was a total implosion. A recurring theme of Nancy’s brief reign so far, Celtic were a shambles after the half-time break.

Teams who are fully supportive of their manager do not collapse in a manner such as this. The fact it also happens so frequently is indicative of a squad who are not buying what Nancy is selling.

Football matches do not last 45 minutes. The pressure applied by opposition teams doesn’t start or stop whenever Celtic want it to. Their lack of fight yesterday was pathetic. Feeble.

Pressed on whether the players still believe in Nancy, midfielder Luke McCowan said: ‘We have to. We have got no other option.’

It was hardly a glowing endorsement. There is a clear disconnect between Nancy and his players, while the opposite is true of Danny Rohl and his Rangers squad.

The young German’s appointment has had a transformative effect on Rangers. The players and manager are totally united. His pragmatic approach, flexibility and tactical dexterity has dragged them back into a title race.

Rohl’s pragmatism and ability to grind out results with limited resources would surely have brought a smile to the face of Walter Smith, qualities which were evident during the early part of the great man’s second spell at Ibrox.

During Nancy’s press conference last week, he lamented the fact that he did not have a pre-season in which to drill his system into the players.

Another poor excuse. It just doesn’t wash. Rohl didn’t have a pre-season either. He was appointed in October, but quickly found a formula to make Rangers competitive.

He has shown a far greater understanding of what is required to succeed in the unique pressures of management in Glasgow.

Nancy, by comparison, is stubbornly refusing to adapt. His deployment of his players in a system to which they are clearly ill-suited is not principled. It is naive and stupid.

Ultimately, what yesterday’s match demonstrated beyond all doubt was that these two managers are heading in very opposite directions.

Rohl and Rangers now have legitimate ambitions of challenging for the league title, while Nancy is finished at Celtic. It’s now only a matter of time before Martin O’Neill answers another SOS call.

Prior to Nancy’s arrival, O’Neill remarked about having a very brief conversation with the Frenchman. It was nothing more than a 15-minute conversation.

Nancy did not seek to pick the 73-year-old’s brains about the squad he was inheriting. Looking back now, that was the first misstep from a man who had the arrogance to believe he could rip up a winning formula and make wholesale changes mid-season.

The nature of Celtic’s collapse yesterday, which saw them concede three times in 21 minutes, means there can simply be no way back for him now.

Yang, who had been the best player on the pitch during the first half, was moved from the right wing to the left as Nancy tried to change things from the touchline once his team had fallen behind

That was the wrong call, one of many from the former Columbus Crew boss over recent weeks. He was out-coached and out-thought by Rohl in the opposite dugout.

The Rangers manager brought on Mohamed Diomande at half-time, tweaked the shape slightly, and organised his team in a fashion which allowed them to put more pressure on the ball.

The visitors were more aggressive and had Celtic rattled from the moment Youssef Chermiti connected with Nico Raskin’s cutback to make it 1-1.

Chermiti was excellent. Ruthless, powerful and clinical with his chances, he now looks to be a player thriving with some confidence and a couple of goals under his belt.

A much-maligned figure since his £8million move from Everton in the summer, he doubled his tally when afforded the freedom of Parkhead to advance towards goal and slot the ball past Kasper Schmeichel.

The Dane should have done better. Just as he should have done better with the shot from Mikey Moore which found its way into the bottom corner for 3-1.

The reality for Schmeichel is that he is having a dreadful season. He is badly out of shape, is failing to make routine saves, and his distribution is routinely awful.

Celtic are an empire in decline. The most dominant force in the country over the past 25 years, they are now engulfed by a civil war.

If the board dig in their heels and continue to back Nancy, the team will be lucky to even finish third in the Premiership. That’s where they are at the moment.

Across the city, Rangers are rejuvenated under Rohl. When he took charge, they were eight points behind Celtic and 13 adrift of Hearts.

During the disastrous reign of Russell Martin, they had won just once in the league. Rohl has since won nine of his 12 Premiership matches, losing only once, to Hearts.

He has achieved this with limited resources thanks to inheriting a squad that was built by Martin and Kevin Thelwell.

Rohl spoke yesterday about the club targeting players who can bring the ‘x-factor’ during the January transfer window.

He has earned the right to be given some money to spend. He deserves to be backed. The challenge for Rangers will be to ship out the deadwood to free up some funds.

An impressive figure from the moment he arrived at Ibrox, Rohl’s reign moved to a new level after this latest win. Right now, he’s the new blue-eyed boy at Ibrox.

If the club can make a couple of shrewd signings over these next few weeks and arm him with the proper tools for a title charge, there’s no telling how this most remarkable of seasons might end.