Explaining Celtic manager Nancy's 'unusual' tactics

Striking a balance between short-term results and building a long-term project is one of the hardest challenges for any club.

After Martin O'Neill steadied the ship at Celtic, the Scottish champions brought in Wilfried Nancy - the 2024 MLS Coach of the Year, who is known for an exciting, front-foot approach.

The Frenchman lost his first four games, but Sunday's dramatic 3-1 victory over Aberdeen provided some much-needed respite.

Here we analyse Nancy's distinctive tactical approach, why his Columbus Crew side impressed and what he is trying to create at Celtic.

In his early days at Celtic, Nancy has implemented the system he used at Columbus Crew - a high-possession 3-4-2-1.

In possession, Celtic have built up with a 3-2 shape made up of their three central defenders and two central midfielders positioned close to each other.

Both wing-backs stay high and wide, and both attacking midfielders are positioned centrally, near the striker. As a result, the attacking midfielders and central midfielders form a box in the middle of the pitch.

At Columbus Crew, Nancy deliberately opted to use positionally versatile players.

Crew's central defenders Steven Moreira, Sean Zawadzki and Malte Amundsen are comfortable at either full-back or in midfield, and their technical quality ensured the team was able to play with fluidity.

Nancy's early team selections at Celtic have been questioned, but it will naturally take time for him to get to know his players.

While fans have expressed concern about him lining up with only one natural central defender, it could be something he persists with.

Digging into Nancy's approach at Columbus Crew shows the principles he likes to use in build-up play.

It is particularly interesting to note the position of his right centre-back - Moreira - as he moves into a midfield position unmarked.

These unusual movements, which require versatility from players, are likely to be a feature of Celtic under Nancy once the players become more used to his methods.

Nancy is also not afraid of asymmetrical play. In this example, there are eight players in close proximity - and six on the left-hand side.

With small distances between each player, passing should be easier - and it presents an unusual challenge for a defending side.

Building up with this many players deeper is designed to draw the opposition up the pitch, so that as they press Nancy's men will speed up play and advance the ball up the pitch into dangerous areas.

That change in pace is paired with smart, unusual movements, with players encouraged to attack space that their team-mates have created for them by leaving their positions.

Defensive markers usually follow the attacking players out of position, and it is common to see Nancy's wing-backs, central midfielders and central defenders make runs from deep into these gaps in the final third.

These concepts help explain why Celtic's Kieran Tierney has found himself creating chances and scoring goals - with two in three league games - from left centre-back.

Analysing Nancy's attacking tactics should give hope to Celtic fans - even if examples of them working as he would hope have not been common in his early days in Glasgow.

Celtic have improved in their past two games - creating a huge number of clear goalscoring chances in the defeat at Dundee United and then the home win against Aberdeen.

Against Aberdeen, they had 71% of the ball, 31 shots, an expected goals tally of 4.53, and hit the post four times.

Even against a side reduced to 10 men, those numbers are staggering, and it would be fair to say a mixture of bad luck, the quality of the finishing and excellent saves restricted them to three goals.

What bodes well for Celtic is their attacking performances look to be gradually improving under Nancy.

Fans will need to show patience, however, as developing the relationships that enable these tactics to work takes time.

Nancy encourages freedom for his players to express themselves, which has an upside in the long run but takes longer to bear fruit in the short term.

During his time at Columbus Crew, when asked about structure and freedom in his side, he said: "For me, there is no creativity in structure. Within [our] concepts, players can move freely."

Nancy likes his sides to create goalscoring chances with precision.

Rather than focusing on crosses, he prefers to get players into the box to receive passes or cut-backs.

This took time to bed in at Celtic as it was not a big feature of his opening three league games.

Against Aberdeen, however, his players were looking for those extra passes to find team-mates in the box.

When that has not happened, crosses have led to turnovers - and with fewer players behind the ball, Celtic have been vulnerable to counter-attacks.

When Celtic lose the ball, Nancy instructs them to counter-press immediately. They have tried to do that with intensity, but when they do not do it in a co-ordinated manner, gaps open up and teams can easily get at their backline.

Another concern has been their inability to defend set-pieces.

An improved defensive structure may simply take time to implement, but Celtic's squad appears to lack the profiles to dominate in their own box - both on the ground and aerially.

This can be the result of opting for more technical full-backs in place of traditional centre-backs.

Nancy believes their struggles once the initial ball has been cleared at a set-piece are a result of a lack of intensity. That may be partially true, but the players selected will influence how intensely a side defends.

Celtic executives decided to recruit Nancy knowing what his game model consists of: a three-at-the-back system that entices pressure before players move the ball into the space that opens up.

His sides are made up of players encouraged to rotate frequently, express freedom and play one-twos while looking to attack diagonally too.

It is a distinctive approach but it has worked in the past for Nancy and there have been more promising signs in Celtic's past two games - even if one of those was a defeat.

Celtic will need to give him the time and the signings to bring the ideas that were a success at Columbus Crew to life.

Expectations at Celtic are high though, and an overhaul of this level requires small wins along the way in order to keep fans and players onside.

With that in mind, beating Aberdeen - even with two late goals against a side reduced to 10 men - was a much-needed step in the right direction.