Wilfried Nancy remains confident that Celtic can turn things around under his guidance despite his tenure reaching a new low with defeat in his first Old Firm derby on Saturday. 

Nancy watched on as his team were beaten 3-1 by Rangers at Celtic Park, despite having taken the lead through Yang Hyun-Jun's magnificent finish in the 19th minute. 

Rangers hit back with two goals in nine minutes after the break from Youssef Chermiti before Mikey Moore picked out the bottom-left corner with 19 minutes remaining. 

Since replacing Brendan Rodgers at the start of December, Nancy has won just two of his eight matches in all competitions, which came against Aberdeen and Livingston either side of Christmas. 

The result saw Celtic miss the chance to go level with Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts, while also allowing Rangers to join them on 38 points in the standings. 

"It was disappointing because we deserved more today, but again we needed more goals," Nancy told BBC Scotland. 

"In the second half, we conceded three goals from throw-ins. It's difficult to accept, but it's reality. This is not about the players or the tactics, this is about moments. 

"This is not about myself, this is about disappointing the fans because I know the meaning of this game. I can understand the disappointment, but I saw what we're able to do.

"We are really close, there are many things that can turn around. If it was not the case, I would not talk like this. I really believe we can turn things around.

"We are together with the board."

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— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 3, 2026

Nancy's words perhaps hold some truth, given Celtic registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.52 from their 21 shots compared to Rangers' 1.06 from their nine attempts. 

But it proved to be another disappointing day at the office for the former Columbus Crew boss, with the person in the opposite dugout finally getting things to click into gear. 

Since Danny Rohl's first league game in charge of Rangers, they've won the most points in the top flight (29) and eight more than Celtic have managed in that time.

That run of results for Celtic saw supporters stage a mass protest outside Parkhead aimed at the club's board. 

"I can understand that. I think that they were behind us in the first half, they pushed us in a good way," Nancy added. 

"And after that, I can understand why they're disappointed regarding the fact that we had many possibilities to win the game.

"I know that I repeat myself, but it happened in the past also regarding many games."