Celtic's Management Woes 2025, part two

Just kidding.

Back when Brendan Rodgers left Celtic and they appointed Martin O'Neill as interim boss, I thought that was an inspired move - O'Neill is the only living Celtic manager who can be placed in the same quality bracket as Rodgers, and so he was the safest of safe pairs of hands. And so it worked out - eight matches, seven wins, and an all-around improvement in their form was the result.

But it was only ever going to be an interim appointment. Martin O'Neill wasn't going to take the job long-term, which meant that a permanent manager needed to be found. And while there was no rush, it needed to be done in time for the new guy to assess the squad in good time before the January transfer window opened. All of which meant that they had reached the point where it really had to be done.

And that in turn meant that Wilfried Nancy was always going to face a baptism of fire - the fixture list in December is absolutely packed, so he was always going to have a match within a couple of days of arriving, and a 'crucial' match within a week at absolute most. This week, with a top-table clash, a must-win European match, and then a cup final, is perhaps more crazy than most... but only a little.

So the first match was always going to be difficult.

Additionally, given that Nancy was hired, at least in part, because he has a very clear, distinct style, he needs to assess the squad not just in general but also in terms of how they fit that style - if that's why he's here, that's what he's going to play, so he needs to players for it. He basically needed to make the change right away, and accept that it led to a rough start.

So the first match was always going to be difficult.

The outcome of that match was not what would have been wanted by Celtic, but the immediate knee-jerk response by their fans has been quite a thing to behold.

But the harsh reality of things is this: Martin O'Neill is gone. It was fantastic to see him in action once again, and he left Celtic in a much better place that he found it, but he's gone now. Time to stop looking back and move onwards: Wilfried Nancy is the manager now, for better or worse, and he needs the support to actually give him at least a little time to get bedded in.

Of course, maybe it really won't work, and he'll have to be removed. But the time for that is 4-5 months after he arrives, not 4-5 days.

(And, actually, the more important thing is what happens in January. Celtic have had a couple of remarkably poor transfer windows, and can't afford another. So the key determinant of the destination of the title is really about who Celtic bring in, rather than the identity of the man bringing them in.)