New Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has been thrown in at the deep end ahead of a clash with Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday in his first match.
The Hoops boss has taken over from the vastly-experienced interim Martin O’Neill, who won seven of his eight games in the dugout after coming in to steady the ship after Brendan Rodgers resigned.
Nancy is now tasked with implementing his own ideas and tactics in the coming days, weeks, and months ahead, after his move from Columbus Crew in the MLS.
The formation that Wilfried Nancy could play at Celtic
Many Celtic supporters may already be wondering what formation the new manager will line-up with against Hearts, and for matches in the future, after O’Neill played a 4-2-3-1 and Rodgers played a 4-3-3.
Nancy has only had a couple of days on the training ground, having been announced on Wednesday night, so the game against the Jam Tarts may come too soon for radical changes.
With time on the training pitch, though, the French boss may want to deploy a 3-4-2-1 formation, which Transfermarkt notes is his favoured system.
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Per FBref, Nancy played a 3-4-3 or a 3-4-2-1 in 31 of his 43 games in charge of Columbus Crew this year, and played a back three or a back five in 40 of those matches.
This suggests that the Frenchman may line up with three central defenders for the most part with Celtic, which could make Dane Murray the biggest winner of his appointment at Parkhead.
Why Dane Murray could play a key role for Wilfried Nancy
The Scottish youngster’s last start for Celtic came in Rodgers’ final match against Hearts, as he scored a nightmare own goal in a 3-1 defeat.
It was a poor afternoon for Murray and Celtic, as he struggled at the heart of the defence, and he only played 38 minutes across two substitute appearances in O’Neill’s time in interim charge, as the experienced boss favoured Auston Trusty and Liam Scales as a pairing.
With Cameron Carter-Vickers being a long-term absentee with an Achilles injury, though, there could be a place for the academy graduate to come back into the team as part of a back three or back five, if Nancy decides to stick with his trend of using formations with three centre-backs.
Kieran Tierney could be an option to play as a third centre-back, as he has done for Scotland in the past, but then Celtic would have three left-footed defenders across the back, which is not ideal for playing out under pressure.
Bringing a right-footed centre-back like Murray into the fold could be ideal for Nancy, and he would have more protection than he did in a back four under Rodgers, as there would be two senior defenders alongside him, in Trusty and Scales.
Appearances
3
Starts
2
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.0
Clearances
15
Dribbled past
0x
Ground duel success rate
64%
Aerial duel success rate
80%
As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old colossus has shown some positive signs, despite his own goal against Hearts, in his three league appearances, dominating opposition attackers in physical duels.
Back in August, Rodgers claimed that Murray’s “ceiling is so high” and that he will really grow in the next 12 to 18 months. Whilst it may not happen as he envisaged, as another manager is in the dugout, that could play out with Nancy’s preferred system.
The Scottish prospect has been the only centre-back on the bench in recent games, with Carter-Vickers out, and that suggests that he would be the most logical inclusion for the new manager as part of a back three.
Given that a change in shape from a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 to a 3-4-2-1 or a 3-4-3 would essentially mean that a new centre-back position emerges, it seems like Murray has the most to gain and could be the biggest winner from this appointment for the Hoops.
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However, it is then down to the academy graduate to take his chance when it comes and prove that he has what it takes to be a regular starter for Celtic, and that his game against Hearts was a blip rather than a sign of things to come.