JAN 2026 PREVIEW: KIERAN TIERNEY NAMED ROLE MODEL FOR CELTIC'S UPCOMING WINTER TRANSFER WINDOW
Wilfried Nancy hails Kieran Tierney as the perfect role model for Celtic. Discover why personality is key for January transfers.
Celtic's manager, Wilfried Nancy, is sticking up for Kieran Tierney and says he’s a role model for any new players joining in January.
Tierney's been under the microscope lately because of his playing time and how fit he is since coming back from Arsenal.
The Scottish defender hasn't been able to play a full 90 minutes consistently, but he's scored some important goals.
Like his late goal against Aberdeen last week, which gave Celtic their first win under Nancy after four losses.
Nancy really liked what he saw from Tierney. He thinks the new system, with three defenders at the back, could be perfect for Tierney, since he's played that way for Scotland before.
Nancy mentioned that Tierney and Callum McGregor are important leaders, both on and off the field. He says that personality will be a big thing he looks for in any January signings.
Kieran Tierney is celebrating his big goal against Aberdeen with his teammate, James Forrest.
The Celtic defender showed up at the far post to score against the 10-man Dons.
Wilfried Nancy is trying to get his point across to Tierney during a tough start.
Nancy said, Personality matters. We have skill in how we play.
When you sign someone, they need to have the right personality. This club is huge, and it's not always easy to play here. So, it's super important to have players who can handle it.
Everyone knows Kieran. I knew him a bit before I got here. He’s important.
There are different kinds of leaders. Kieran leads by example on the field, not so much with words. Callum does both. We have other players like that, too.
When I talk about personality, it's not just about being loud. It's about having the right attitude when things get tough.
Can we keep showing up for each other when we're attacking? Can we still press hard? Can we defend like crazy when we need to? It's about the attitude. That's what I'm after.
Kieran has played this system before with the national team. Of course, I talked to him about it and knew he could do it.
People have been saying that Tierney hasn't been able to play a full game since his return from Arsenal.
He's played 90 minutes in a few games now. Before, it was 60 minutes to help him get back to playing full-time.
We’ve been working on that. I think you'll see more from him. I'm not shocked by what he's doing. I know he can do even better, fitness-wise, too.
The plan isn't just to have him play 90 minutes every time, but to make sure he's at his best when it counts.
Celtic had a rocky start under Nancy, but they finally won 3-1 against Aberdeen last weekend, after losing four in a row.
They're now six points behind Hearts, who are leading the league, but they have one game in hand.
Nancy and his players are playing Livingston today—the team at the bottom. Then they have two important games against Motherwell and Rangers next week.
The coach mentioned that he'll keep pushing his players to get better so they can start winning more games.
Tierney's big moment this season was scoring a key goal for Scotland against Denmark.
He said, I think some players can do better in certain spots, but I'm happy with what I have right now.
I want to push them because they can do more than they think. That's how they'll get better.
We won against Aberdeen, but I’m going to push harder this week, because I know we can do better.
It's all about talking to the players and pointing them in the right direction. They're up for it. I won’t push anyone too hard if they can't handle it.
When you challenge someone, and they enjoy it, that’s the sweet spot.
This is my first time coaching at this time of year. It's new to me. Usually, at Christmas, I’d have time off.
But I’m loving it. When I was in Europe or America, I enjoyed waking up and watching games. Now I’m part of it. It’s different, but I like it a lot.
This is Nancy’s first time facing Livingston—a team that’s known for being tough and good at set pieces and for their tricky artificial pitch.
He added, I’ve played a few games on a plastic pitch before. My staff has prepped me on Livingston—the stadium, pitch, and play style.
Nancy is getting ready for his first game on Livingston's turf at their stadium.
I’m going to watch some videos. We know it’ll be hard. We respect them, but we want to focus on our game and play well.
Set pieces are important in modern football, especially here with the physicality. The goal is to compete. We know they're going to be bigger than us.
First, we need to try and avoid giving away set pieces. Second, we need to focus, compete with the big guys, attack the ball, and be great on the follow-up.
We’re ready for that, even though it will be tough. We’ve had a good week, and we’re up for it.
DIEGO SIMEONE RESTS EVERY STARTER AHEAD OF CRUCIAL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TRIP TO LONDON
Discover how Diego Simeone’s academy gamble at the Mestalla resulted in a 2-0 victory and a historic defensive performance.
Diego Simeone pulled off something special at the Mestalla. He decided to rest every regular starter, thinking ahead to the big Champions League semi-final against Arsenal. Even with all the changes, his backup squad and two bold debutants came through, grabbing a crucial 2-0 win over Valencia.
Talk about rolling the dice. Simeone didn’t just rotate a few players; he swapped out his entire starting lineup. He wanted his top players ready for London, so he sent a completely fresh team to face Valencia. Normally, you’d expect some nerves or messy play with such drastic rotation, but Atletico looked calm. They controlled the game, showing that the 'Cholo' mindset truly runs throughout the club, regardless of who’s on the pitch. Resting his stars paid off; his fringe players stood tall in a tough atmosphere.
Then came the academy kids. In the second half, they took their chance. Iker Luque, only 20, scored a clever goal at the near post just ten minutes after coming off the bench. It was a dream debut, and his poise made him look like a seasoned pro. Not to be outdone, 18-year-old Cubo sealed it with a composed finish eight minutes later, chasing down a sharp Griezmann pass, one of the few big names who got on the field late. After a quick VAR check, the goal stood, and the Atletico bench went wild.
The stats backed up Atletico’s dominance. They racked up 1.78 expected goals from 20 shots, still a real threat even with their regular attackers sitting out. At the back, they shut Valencia down completely; not a single shot on target. That’s the first time Valencia’s failed to test a keeper in a Liga match since February.
With this win, Atletico stretched their league scoring streak to ten straight games. Everyone expected some rotation before the Champions League clash, but no one figured Simeone’s academy kids would shine so brightly, especially at such a tough venue.
Now, the team’s got real momentum heading into the showdown at Emirates. Simeone’s starters will be fresh and fired up for Tuesday’s clash with Arteta’s Arsenal. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw, so everything’s still up for grabs.
CALLUM MCGREGOR DEMANDS IMMEDIATE BOARD ACCOUNTABILITY TO MATCH HIS PERSONAL AMBITION
Callum McGregor wants Celtic to match his ambition. We break down the captain's crossroads and the potential for a shock summer exit.
Callum McGregor has to know by now that Celtic won’t ever reach their full potential as long as things stay the way they are. That’s been clear for ages, and honestly, it’s part of why he needs to move on this summer.
If Celtic really want to become the club it’s supposed to be, it needs to face up to its awful European record. For twenty years, they’ve been nowhere. The stat gets repeated so much it’s almost boring, but you can’t ignore the fact that they haven’t won a knockout-round tie in any UEFA competition since 2004.
The leadership doesn't even bother to manage expectations anymore. They just try to kill them entirely. Ross Desmond, Dermot’s son, spelt it out at that chaotic AGM last November. He said Celtic’s lack of progress in Europe since the UEFA Cup final in 2003 is down to ‘the enormous change in the financial landscape of football’. Basically, they’re in a smaller league, so backing European campaigns isn’t worth the money.
McGregor’s drive doesn’t sync with the folks running Celtic. When he met with the Celtic Fans Collective before Desmond’s outburst, CEO Michael Nicholson claimed Europe had gone fine recently just because they made the group stage nineteen times out of twenty.
Even Martin O’Neill, who once spoke so passionately about wanting to compete in Europe (because that’s what the club set out to do in 1967), shifted his focus as time went on. By his second stint, after being hammered by Stuttgart in the Europa League play-off, he started complaining about English clubs spending obscene sums and how Celtic couldn’t keep up. No money, no hope, apparently.
No one expects Celtic to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City or Arsenal in the Champions League. That whole argument feels like a smokescreen. Still, with nearly £70 million in the bank and a wage bill over £70 million, you just expect them to do better than folding against the likes of Kairat Almaty, Ferencváros, Cluj, and Sparta Prague reserves.
In McGregor’s midweek appeal for Celtic to match his ambition, he stressed the need for Champions League football and for everyone at the club to commit to playing at the highest level, to strive for ‘the best version of Celtic’. But he must know deep down that it’s not going to happen. The Desmonds are staying put. Nicholson isn’t being kicked out, either. That’s just reality.
Yeah, changes are coming: a new manager (Robbie Keane looks likely), maybe a sporting director, perhaps some new board members or a fresh chairman, but you’d be crazy to think this signals any real overhaul.
Celtic’s leaders haven’t cared about making waves in Europe for two decades. Brendan Rodgers returned in one of the strangest moves lately, but the board never gave him the backing he needed. Ange Postecoglou left as a cult hero, but also the first boss ever dumped out of three European tournaments in one season.
As long as Celtic stayed ahead of Rangers, that was enough. They didn’t even notice Hearts sneaking up.
McGregor hinted at this. He called for accountability and pushed for everyone to try to make Celtic the best they can be. You don’t need Sherlock Holmes to see what he’s getting at, and he’s right.
Trouble is, it feels like it’s too late for him. He should’ve drawn a line in the sand years ago, when he had more power.
Instead, after every humiliating European night, we’d hear him talk about “learning lessons" again and again. But Celtic weren’t paying hefty wages for players to learn that they expected results and didn’t get them.
McGregor turns 33 this summer. Two years left on his contract, but he’s not the player he was. If he leaves, maybe for Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia with Rodgers or somewhere similar, it’s probably not going to shake things up as people expect. The new manager will probably want their own captain anyway.
Really, he could’ve tried for a move back in 2019 after Rodgers left the first time. Maybe gone to Leicester and tested himself in the Premier League as Kieran Tierney did. But he stayed, got caught up in the mess as the ten-in-a-row dream died during that disastrous Covid season. That could’ve been the moment to lay down the law or threaten to leave.
Even when rumours about Saudi Arabia heated up in January, he seemed to disappear for a bit. Maybe he wanted to see what Celtic would do in the transfer window. Joel Mvuka, Junior Adamu, and Tomas Cvancara on loan surely weren't what he’d hoped for.
If we’re honest, McGregor’s shot at the top levels of club football is gone. He’s not heading to the Premier League now, and Celtic aren’t about to crack Europe. Saudi’s probably his best option; it would at least set him up for life.
He’s got a Scottish Cup final coming. That’s as good a swan song as you can get. And somehow, Celtic are still in the hunt for the league title.
If McGregor means what he’s said, there’s no way he fits with the club’s leadership anymore.
Really, it’s just a shame he didn’t stand up and call out the board sooner. He’s been an excellent, smart footballer, but he never really pushed himself beyond Celtic, a club whose lack of focus has landed them right where they are now.
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