Eight games. Six defeats. Just like that, the Wilfried Nancy Celtic tenure is over.
A nightmare spell has ended with the Frenchman setting records for all the wrong reasons after his arrival from Columbus Crew.
Replacing interim boss Martin O’Neill, who had steadied a rocky ship, Nancy has left the club capsized after the shortest managerial reign in the club’s history.
From mini tactics boards to scrutinised social media activity, here is how Nancy’s shambolic two months in Glasgow unfolded.
O’Neill was afforded the same amount of games in charge as his successor, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Across his eight games, O’Neill won seven, the only blip a 3-1 away loss to Midtjylland in the Europa League.
His reign included beating Rangers in a League Cup semi-final while Feyenoord were humbled in Rotterdam.
O’Neill’s Celtic had cut Hearts’ advantage at the Scottish Premiership summit to three points by the time the leaders were due to visit Parkhead.
The opportunity was there for Nancy, in his debut match, to close that gap completely with a game to spare.
However, despite making a bright opening, Celtic – in the Frenchman’s 3-4-3 system – were stunned by Hearts in a 2-1 defeat.
Nancy’s decision to flip to his favoured formation was instantly criticised, but bizarrely not as much as his choice of footwear or use of a handheld tactics board.
The extreme fallout of the loss introduced the 48-year-old to the brutal nature of football in Glasgow. His eye-catching green and white trainers were never seen again.
“I was pleased with the mentality,” said Nancy. “The performance was really interesting. Defensively, we were really good but we missed the few opportunities.”
Next up, Roma four days later in the Europa League.
Celtic, still deployed in a 3-4-3, were way off it and the Serie A side took full advantage, picking apart the hosts in front of a shellshocked home crowd.
Evan Ferguson, who scored two of Roma’s three goals, said himself it felt like Nancy’s players “didn’t know what they were doing” at times.
The defeat marked the first time a Celtic manager had lost their first two games in charge, but the nightmare was only just beginning.
A week on from his debut against Hearts, the Scottish League Cup final then presented Nancy with the chance to secure silverware – and a much-needed first victory – so soon after arriving.
But so much chat in the build-up to the Hampden encounter with St Mirren was dominated by voices saying O’Neill should have been the man to guide Celtic through the biggest week of their season.
And those voices only got louder when the Paisley side lifted their first trophy in more than a decade in a 3-1 win.
Stephen Robinson’s men were well worth their triumph, while Celtic still looked disjointed at best.
For much of the first half, centre-back Liam Scales could be seen marauding up the left wing. Winger James Forrest ended the game playing central midfield.
There was no tactics board in view, but the sight of captain Callum McGregor being called over to the sideline to receive instructions on multiple occasions was.
Perhaps the most sobering element of the game was how in control St Mirren were in the second half of a game of such magnitude.
For Nancy, it was another significant blow, one so damaging that many fans had already written him off.
“I really believe we are going to click and move forward,” he said post match.
“We are a bit fragile at the moment but my job is to give them confidence
“I am happy to be here at this moment. I accept the challenge.”
In the wake of that cup final defeat, so many Celtic supporters had long since made their mind up about Nancy’s appointment. According to the club’s board, they did not agree.
In the build-up to the midweek trip to face Dundee United, chief executive Michael Nicholson said Celtic’s support for Nancy was “absolutely solid”.
“I understand and respect the right of every supporter to express their discontent and share that with us, but we know where we want to go and step by step it’s all of our job is to support Wilfried, his team and the squad to take us where we want to get to,” he added.
While the build-up to the game at Tannadice started with support, it ended with yet another defeat, the Frenchman’s fourth on the spin as Jim Goodwin’s side came from behind to claim a 2-1 win.
There was a glimmer of hope for the former Columbus Crew head coach.
Next up, a home league encounter with Aberdeen, heralded the best performance from the defending champions under his guidance.
It took two late goals from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest to eventually see Celtic over the line to a 3-1 win, but they were utterly dominant. Seventy three per cent possession, 31 shots, four attempts off the wood work.
“I’m happy for the players, I’m happy for the fans, I’m happy for the club, I’m happy for the board. We chase anybody,” said Nancy.
Was this a new dawn? Or just a win over an erratic Aberdeen?
Two days after the big day, Celtic and Livingston offered up a Christmas cracker in West Lothian.
The Parkhead club were twice behind in the first eight minutes, but on each occasion should terrific character to haul level before pulling away to a 4-2.
Two victories, a corner turned?
In short, no.
Motherwell are the team who arguably play the most attractive football in the country, with an intricate system built on defensive solidity.
In their previous meeting, Motherwell were 2-1 up only to capitulate thanks to a rare defensive lapse. There was no such courtesy offered here.
At Fir Park, Celtic were given the runaround by Jens Berthel Askou’s team in a deserved 2-0 win. So disgusted were supporters with the performance of Nancy’s men, the highest score on the BBC’s Player Rater for a man in green and white was 2.78 for Auston Trusty.
“We want to keep going, but this was a stop. This stop is going to allow us to be better collectively,” said Nancy.
So, to Rangers.
Celtic fans spent so long at the start of the season cheering themselves up from a botched Champions League qualification campaign and their own side’s shortcomings by pointing across the city.
Ibrox was not a happy place. Their own Champions League attempt ended in humiliation, as did the tenure of boss Russell Martin who was last spotted getting bundled into the back of a car in Falkirk.
Celtic weren’t winning the title race, but Rangers were still nowhere to be seen in the rear view mirror.
Fast forward to Sunday, and the Old Firm rivals are now locked on the same points following an eye-opening 3-1 win for Danny Rohl’s team.
Celtic took the lead through Yang Hyun-Jun’s solo goal. He’s probably the one player to show improvement under Nancy.
But in the second half his team crumbled. The much criticised Youssef Chermiti scored an extraordinary double before Kasper Schmeichel flapped at Mikey Moore’s perfunctory shot.
By full-time, some fans had left their seats for a protest outside the main stand front door. They’d seen enough.
Now, so have their board.
