DAVIE MARTINDALE insists Wilfred Nancy has made Celtic BETTER since arriving in Glasgow.
The Frenchman was under huge pressure ahead of getting his first win by beating Aberdeen on Sunday after a run of four straight losses.
Nancy suffered quickfire defeats to Hearts, St Mirren and Dundee United domestically as well as a loss to Roma in Europe.
The ex-Columbus Crew boss finally got off the mark by beating the Dons – and Martindale, whose side play the Hoops on Saturday, reckoned it had been coming.
He said: “I think there has been massive improvement in Celtic since he came in.
“In the cup final, St Mirren were the better team on the day.
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“But he had to take over when he did, Martin O’Neill had done a brilliant job but that also put him under a bit of pressure.
“But you’re a manager coming in with your ideals.
“If he’d gone in, changed it and won the cup final, then won the next couple of games nobody would be saying anything.
“Everyone would be talking about how brave he is.
“It’s all hindsight, everyone is an expert after the fact.
“For me, I think the reaction to him has been disappointing and unfair.
“We are highly critical in this country and I think it’s a modern trend that it’s getting worse.
“And it’s probably part of the job being at Celtic or Rangers.
“But anyone who watched the Dundee United game – and Jim Goodwin said himself they were lucky to not be 3 down at half-time – will know what I’m talking about here.
“I watched it, they should have been out of sight in the first half.
“Then on Sunday, the Aberdeen game, yeah, it was against ten men for a while but I thought they looked like the Celtic of old.
“They look as if every session they’re getting under the new manager, every game they’re playing, is getting them to show signs of progression.”
Martindale also laughed off suggestions Celtic are in crisis because Hearts have moved six points clear again in the title race.
The Hoops have a game in hand so can close that to three if they win it.
The Livi gaffer, whose side are bottom of the Premiership, insists they’re still blessed with loads of top talent.
And joked he’d gladly swap points totals if they want.
He said: “It’s still Celtic football club, they still have magnificent players.
“Brendan Rodgers talked about Ferraris and Honda Civics and I get what he was saying.
“I actually agreed with it a bit – but if they have Hondas then what do the rest of us have!
“They’re still top players playing for a massive club, an institution.
“I’d rather be in their position than my position – if they’re going through such a hard time I’m quite happy to swap the points!
“They’re not top of the league but every single fan outside the Old Firm has been wanting this to happen for years.
“And when it finally has happened, Hearts are top of the league, it’s a catastrophe everywhere!
“But let’s look at it differently, it’s a Hearts story and they’ve done brilliantly to get to where they are.”
Despite Livi’s lowly position and the fact they’ve won just one game all season, Martindale believes they can produce a shock this weekend.
Even with the lack of victories, their performances – especially at home – have been decent so it’s only a matter of time before things turn.
He said: “We are at home so focus on ourselves.
“Going to Celtic Park is a different scenario altogether, this is our home so go out there and impose ourselves.
“We know their strengths, they’re Celtic and they have fantastic players.
“We still need a lot to go in our favour, but focus on what we can do and try to get something.
“It’s no different to the previous 12 years or whatever it has been playing Celtic.”
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