Celtic going top would not change Wilfried Nancy’s approach

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy stressed there will be no letting up in his quest for improvement if his side move top of the Premiership on Tuesday.

The champions will move joint with Hearts if they beat Motherwell at Fir Park after securing wins in their previous two matches.

Nancy has steadied the ship after losing his opening four games but Celtic have conceded 13 goals in his tenure following Saturday’s 4-2 win at Livingston.

That is two more than they did in the first 16 matches of the season under Brendan Rodgers, and more than double the amount they shipped during Martin O’Neill’s eight-match spell in interim charge.

Going top of the table would further settle the initial drama around Nancy’s start but the Frenchman knows there will remain improvements to make.

“If we win the game and this is the situation, yes, for sure we’re going to be happy,” he said.

“But let’s prepare for the game, let’s have a good game. Let’s maximise our chance to win the game. And after that, if we have to be top of the table, we’re going to be.

“And if this is not the case, we know that the season is long.

“But the idea is to keep the momentum. The idea is to improve regarding the game that we had on Saturday. To be able to get better.

“My job is to challenge the players. So we did really good stuff on Saturday. I would challenge them to keep doing what we did. And I would challenge them also to do better regarding certain things. But at the same time, I would support them.

“I want to push more. I want to do more for my players.”

Motherwell lost 3-2 at Celtic Park in October after Daizen Maeda headed a stoppage-time winner for the hosts.

And Jens Berthel Askou’s side also suffered a narrow victory against Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday to end an unbeaten 10-game league run.

Nancy said: “I expect a good game, because I have seen them play and it’s a team that likes to play. It’s going to be a bit different, I would say.

“They’re still physical, but they also like to play. The coach has not been here for a long time and the way they were playing before is not the same as today.

“So, an exciting game to play. A difficult game, but we’re going to accept this challenge.”