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The Celtic boss insisted he was not afraid of the sack, maintaining, “I believe we are really close to a turnaround,” even after edging perilously close to being fired with a heavy setback against Rangers.

A Second-Half Meltdown Sees Old Firm Defeat

The home side were ahead their oldest rivals at the break but a collapse after the break let the Gers to pull level on points with the reigning Scottish Premiership champions. Nancy, who was hired from Columbus Crew, has now been in charge for six defeats in his first eight fixtures.

“The board and I are united with the board,” insisted Nancy.

Pressed on the speculation, Nancy responded: “That’s not my focus. I concentrate on discovering solutions to help my team to be good on details.

Fan Fury On Display

The fans voiced their fury – towards the board and manager – by gathering at full time. The hierarchy would be most likely to bring back Martin O’Neill, who steered the club during a temporary stint last year, should a change be made.

“It’s the results [that leads to pressure]. And that’s the situation for the moment. But when I say this is the reality, I am not saying that I am a defeatist guy. Absolutely not. What I mean we are really close, imminently close to turn things around.”

Focus on the Details

He highlights the fact the side show good levels for a half at a time. Indeed, but for poor finishing they would have been better than 1-0 up. “The performance had merit other than the fact that we missed our chances,” he said. “I know that we lost, but I have also to be objective.

“The standard we had at times was exceptionally high. That is a fact. I could not speak so positively if it was untrue. Therefore, in terms of results, I mentioned we've seen this before. For that reason I feel we are really close to getting it right. Currently: details, details, details.”

“There were a lot of encouraging signs that we did, as was the case today. However it’s about sustaining it. My outlook would be different if it was not the case. This is why I am a big believer the team can to turn things around.”

Opposition Reaction Outlook

Rangers manager played down talk of a championship push despite what felt like a huge result. “We take it game by game, and we can really build up something here,” he said. “The confidence in the squad is immense.”