Wilfried Nancy, the Celtic manager, remains unfazed despite facing the most challenging debut of any coach in the club’s history. His tenure has begun with three consecutive losses against Hearts, Roma, and St Mirren, placing him under immediate scrutiny.

Particularly stinging was the League Cup final defeat to St Mirren, which incited a wave of discontent among fans. The supporters are now casting doubt on Nancy’s ability to lead the team effectively in the long run.

Nevertheless, Nancy stands firm in his convictions. The Frenchman has openly stated that he feels no obligation to prove himself to his critics. “I don’t have to prove anything for anybody. Simple as that,” asserted the 48-year-old, who previously managed Columbus Crew.

Anticipating the challenges of his new role, Nancy acknowledged the difficulties inherent in taking over mid-season. “I knew before I came here that it could be difficult,” he remarked, recognizing the unprecedented nature of his arrival at Celtic.

‘I don’t have to prove anything for anybody. Simple as that,’ said the 48-year-old former Columbus Crew boss.

Wilfried Nancy cut a lonely figure in the wake of the League Cup final defeat to St Mirren

Nancy has tried to change Celtic’s style of play since arriving but it is yet to take hold

‘I knew before I came here that it could be difficult regarding the situation, regarding the fact that this is the first time for everyone to have a coach who comes in the middle of the season like this.

‘So I knew that it could be a lot of adversity. But, again, I’m really happy to be here and I do my job as best as I can. After that, things will go in a more positive way.

‘This is my job, this is a normal reaction. Don’t forget that I come from Europe, so I know the way it works.

‘Also in MLS it’s the same, not with the same intensity obviously, but I’ve been a player also, so no problem with that. They can say what they want and I understand that.’

Tonight’s clash at Tannadice marks the start of another testing run of fixtures for Celtic, who will then play Aberdeen at home on Sunday before facing games against Livingston (away), Motherwell (away) and Rangers (home) over the festive period.

Describing the response over the past week as a ‘normal reaction’, Nancy revealed he tries to shield himself from criticism as much as possible.

‘The only thing that I know is I receive a lot of messages from my family to ask me if I’m OK,’ he continued. ‘So it means that maybe I get killed, but it’s OK.’

When asked if he had also received support from the Celtic hierarchy, he said: ‘I’m very grateful with the people that I work with. They know why I am here, they protect me, they know what I want to do for the club.

‘They know where we are at this moment and we knew this moment could happen. But they know the most important thing is where do we want to go?

‘There are bumps. Obviously, I would have preferred the opposite because, trust me, when we do this job, when we lose, this is so difficult, so painful. But this is part of the job.

‘The club, the people within the club, the board and everyone has been spot-on.’

Nancy has come under fire for immediately introducing a new formation after two days on the training pitch and sticking with it through defeats to Hearts, Roma and St Mirren.

The Frenchman looks unlikely to backtrack for the game against Jim Goodwin’s United at Tannadice.

‘I’m not here to please myself,’ said the former Toronto and Columbus Crew head coach, who argued his tactics were ‘not rocket science’. ‘I’m here to find a way to help my players to play together offensively and defensively.

Nancy insists there is nothing wrong with the system… and he will be hoping for improvement after Dundee United

‘It’s totally normal that people criticise me or say certain things regarding the system or the way I play because I don’t win. But I’m going beyond winning. It’s about character, it’s about personality, it’s about coherence, it’s about also the way we want to play offensively and defensively.

‘And there is nothing about the system. This is about the desire to compete every time.

‘I’m asking a lot of questions to see what I can do better. But it’s a bit difficult to say that because for the moment I haven’t won.

‘But when we’re going to win, it’s going to be the same because my job is to make the team better when we win and also when we lose.’

Nancy made a positive immediate impact at his previous clubs but his tactical transformation at Celtic comes amid a run of midweek games.

‘As a coach, we need time,’ he said. ‘But at the same time, we know that we don’t have time. So that’s why for me, it’s new.

‘I know what to do. And I can tell you that every day there is an improvement. You are not able to see it because you are not with us.

‘I cannot talk too much because results are important. And for the moment, I have nothing. But I know that it will come.’