Wilfried Nancy will take time to assess players before trying to rebuild Celtic

New Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has promised his players he will give them every chance to impress before finalising his January transfer plans.

The Frenchman has six matches before the window opens and has arrived in Glasgow with an open mind.

Brendan Rodgers’ second reign ended amid tensions with the board over transfer strategy and execution but Nancy’s immediate focus will be on the players who are already here.

“First of all, I’m going to have to assess the team and to know them a little bit better,” said Nancy, who kicks off with a game against William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts on Sunday.

“I know them as a player because I’ve watched them in games. Now this is about knowing them as a person, and after that we’ll see what is the best for the team.

“I like to take my time. I know that I don’t have a lot of time but the idea is to be coherent, programming the profile that we need.

“Obviously they anticipate different stuff already, it’s totally normal. We have to be ahead, if we are not ahead we’re going to be in trouble.

“So it doesn’t change. But I stop everything, because let me see what we have and, after that, we will adjust.”

Recriminations over slow summer recruitment and Champions League qualification failure remain ongoing between fans and the board, and Nancy is well aware of the demands.

“This club is a club with passion and we play also for the fans, so it’s totally normal that if we don’t play well that they can say something,” the 48-year-old said. “But the idea is also to please them and to give them emotion.

“I am a coach. The idea is to bring joy, with the way we’re going to play and the results that we’re going to have. This is the only thing that I can control. After that, I cannot do anything. I’m aware about this but the idea is to connect.”

Nancy stressed the “passion” he experienced in his early interactions with fans, and added: “I’m really pleased with that because my job is not a normal job, with a lot of humility.

“The life we have, it’s unbelievable. But at the same time, we know that there is a lot of pressure. But pressure is part of our life.

“I was really pleased to see people welcome me, everywhere. I hope that they’re going to stay like that!

“Before I came here, I knew that the demand was high, and I knew that everybody talked about winning. But I don’t know a competitor who likes to lose.

“I know that if I don’t do a good job, maybe after five games, or 10 games, it’s going to be like that.

“Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most titled coaches and he’s been fired, so I don’t have an issue with that because this is part of our job.

“My job is to be clear, to maximise our chance to win, and to find a way to be consistent, and obviously the outcome is to win trophies.

“But the outcome, I cannot control that. I control what we do every day on the pitch.”

Nancy talked about implementing a “proactive” style of play but also being “disgusting to play against” when his team defends.

But he added: “They already did a good job before I came, so the idea is just to add a few nuances.”