Wilfried Nancy sack would leave positions untenable at Celtic after act of self-sabotage

It was difficult not to feel sorry for the Frenchman, who wore the thousand-yard stare of a man on death row as the anger of supporters and expletive-ridden chants rained down rained down from the stands after the number of consecutive losses since his appointment only 14 days prior hit four.

Not since Jock Stein's final season in charge in 1978 have Celtic hit such a nadir with the club's all-time losing streak of five defeats in a row - which has happened only twice in 1947 and 1953 - now looming should they lose again at home to Aberdeen on Sunday.

When a situation reaches such toxic levels, one of two outcomes usually follow. Either the manager walks or he is relieved of his duties. Only Nancy remains adamant that performances are improving and chief executive Michael Nicholson stated that his backing for the new boss was "absolutely solid" on Celtic TV only hours before kick-off in Dundee.

As has been the case with Celtic throughout this whole fiasco, the timing of such a statement was highly questionable and arguably makes the position of the CEO untenable if the manager is sacked any time soon. Of course, Nicholson is already regarded persona non-grata among a section of the Celtic support who are calling for him - and others - to follow chairman Peter Lawwell out the exit door.

Nancy could be accused of being under-qualified for the Celtic job given his MLS background - a franchise system with no relegation where an eighth-place finish is considered acceptable due to qualifying for the play-offs.

However, he would have been given a far better chance of making a successful start at Parkhead had he been appointed in the summer and been given a transfer window and pre-season to build his squad and implement his ideologies.

But appointing a project manager in the midst of a challenging campaign, on the back of a stabilising Martin O'Neill winning run, and with a cup final just days away, was a catastrophic error of judgement and an act of self-sabotage. Either O'Neill should have been kept on, perhaps even until the end of the season, or a more experienced manager should have taken his place.

Nancy simply appears to be caught in the wrong movie and has not helped himself with some bizarre decisions, defiant interviews and a social media faux pas. How many players have been played out of position in the four matches under his watch? Liam Scales delivering crosses from the left wing and Daizen Maeda floundering at number 10 points to a manager fitting square pegs in round holes in an attempt to force his favoured 3-4-3 system on a squad that is not built for it.

However, the blame does not lie entirely at the feet of the manager. The squad he has inherited is sorely lacking in the required depth and quality with major concerns over recent recruitment - including the hiring of Nancy himself.

Questions are being raised of head of football operations Paul Tisdale, whose fingerprints are all over the Nancy appointment given his previous working relationship with his assistant, Kwame Ampadu, during their time together at Exeter City.

Tisdale has not been heard from since being appointed into the heavily influential role in October 2024 with the club stating his remit included "the identification and development of talent". More than a year down the line, with two transfer windows in between, there is little evidence to suggest that he is succeeding in those tasks. Quite the contrary in fact.

Where Celtic go from here remains to be seen. The fans are at breaking point. Protests against the board and manager are only likely to escalate the longer the team continues to struggle. However, those supporters who are taking their anger too far amid allegations of assaults, abuse and threats against staff need to remember that there are human beings involved.

First things first, Nancy needs a win against Aberdeen. Should he fail again then he could be looking for a new job before his previous club Columbus Crew have employed his replacement.

And that will be on the Celtic board as much as on Nancy himself with Nicholson and Tisdale left to answer for a disastrous appointment.

Get the win, buy some time, and with a good January window, perhaps Nancy and Celtic can salvage the unsalvageable. It might take a Christmas miracle...