SEVEN days ago Celtic were preparing to attempt to bounce back from a rudderless home defeat to Hearts, they welcomed Italian giants Roma to town with the game being dubbed the 'El Catholico' in a humorous nod to each club's connection to the Catholic faith.
The Hoops returned to European action for the first time since Martin O'Neill's departure and the new man at the helm already had a tall task ahead of him after his first bout saw his side knocked on their backside by the current league leaders without really laying much of a glove until Kieran Tierney's 94th minute strike reduced the deficit.
Next on the list was European escapades and 'Nancyball' would need to improve and fast.
Within minutes Liam Scales fired home a fantastic header, but unfortunately for the Irish defender it was spectacularly bulleted towards his own goal and before long the already grim atmosphere was soured with Celtic staring down the barrel of a second consecutive home defeat.
It was safe to say when Evan Ferguson completed his brace with Roma's third before the 40th minute, you could hear the nails being drilled into the French manager's coffin, and the Celtic Park atmosphere, as it has been in recent times, again took on the air of a funeral. That was partly due to the awful football which had been forced upon fans who paid into Celtic Park on Thursday evening, and it was partly due to the absolutely brilliant idea to ban the Green Brigade in the most important week of the season whilst the stadium sat and allowed the away section of a few thousand to outsing fifty thousand.
Celtic did find a tiny pulse when the Hoops were awarded a penalty, but just when we thought the night could not get worse, Arne Engels drilled his spot-kick off the upright and the Parkhead faithful grew even more concerned about the new man in the dug-out.
Kelechi Iheanacho's return was perhaps the single high point as the Nigerian forward not only caused some havoc in the Roma backline, but was inches from pulling a goal back for Celtic.
The most damning statement of the night came from Roma's match-winner when he claimed that most of the Celtic squad looked clueless in their new formation under Wilfried Nancy.
Irish striker Ferguson told TNT Sports: "I think we knew they were in transition with the manager and they obviously changed formation.
"I think you could see at times they played well, and it worked, and at times it didn't.
"Some people didn't know what they were doing and stuff. I think we just stuck to our game plan and played the way we played."
If an opposition player who studied the game plan maybe for two days before they play can suss out the style and formation then questions maybe need to be asked of the management who are persistent in that style of play.
But one thing was certain, if Celtic had a genuine striker in the form of Iheanacho, rather than the one-trick pony that is Daizen Maeda, then maybe, just maybe, the tide could be turned with the first chance for silverware in the offing.
Heading into Sunday the squad looked thin and with the Africa Cup of Nations due to claim Tounekti and Balikwisha, this was a chance for Nancy to put down a marker and get the fans back onside.
What occurred was arguably the most embarrassing cup final performance by any squad ever in green and white hoops.
Folk may correct me and claim Raith Rovers in '94, or Partick Thistle giving the Lisbon Lions a 4-1 thumping at Hampden Park in 1971, with an emerging Kenny Dalglish scoring Celtic's only goal that day.
But no, neither of these will do for me. What was witnessed by most Hoops fans was a performance by sub-par players who played to their limits and which would not have looked out of place on the Falls Park 3G, or the Cricky for that matter.
The final saw Celtic down a goal within 75 seconds, despite Wilfried Nancy's later claim that Celtic started "very well". Not sure what constitutes a good start in France or the United States, but two minutes into a cup final and trailing is not one that translates well in Scotland.
As promised, Iheanacho's presence up top proved threatening and he almost equalised within minutes of the opener only for a great stop by the St Mirren shot-stopper.
Reo Hatate got on the end of Kieran Tierney's peach of a cross and the Hoops restored parity and looked to ramp up some pressure.
On the 35th minute disaster struck after Iheanacho once again proved unreliable in the fitness area. The Nigerian forward pulled up holding his hamstring and that spelled the end of the cup final for him.
Once the striker was replaced by Johnny Kenny, Celtic were dead on the game-plan front and offered absolutely nothing.
Defensively Celtic were all over the show, and Evan Ferguson's comments on the Thursday prior rang true once more, as they looked clueless and devoid of any idea of how to stop the counter attack.
Whilst St Mirren rarely ventured forward, a cross eventually came in and without hesitation Kasper Schmeichel did what he does best at Hampden Park and cost his team a goal at a pivotal moment. The Danish shot-stopper entered no-man's land and made Ayunga's header an easy one to finish and restore the Buddies' lead.
A counter-attack 12 minutes later saw St Mirren double their advantage and it was curtains as Nancy looked bewildered on the touchline and the team looking like fish out of water.
But not all the issues fall at the manager's door, although the arrogance and refusal to change formation are unforgivable; but then again, most managers are like that in the modern game.
Callum McGregor and Wilfried Nancy discussing tactical amendments
Some of the core problems lie within the squad, and before folk claim O'Neill had the same players and got results, yes, he did – but only to an extent.
Let's not pretend that it was all sunshine and rainbows under O'Neill, and of course it would have been better if he had remained in the dugout for the week. But remember, the same board who brought him back also cut him in favour of 'their' new man.
But let's take a look at who Nancy had on Sunday to play in the biggest game this side of Christmas. Starting with, for example, one player who is due a testimonial at the end of the season.
A testimonial is normally awarded for someone's services to the club which span over a decade: the Ryan Giggs, Billy McNeills or Paulo Maldinis of this world.
That player doesn't boast a Callum McGregor or James Forrest level of service. In fact, you're more likely to remember him in the future as a PTSD flashback.
The player I am referencing is of course Anthony Ralston.
The back three on Sunday is up there in the list of crimes agains football, with Liam Scales playing like an alien who has just been shown this round leather thing with patterns on it for the first time.
Auston Trusty was far from perfect, in fact he was quite poor, but Liam Scales and Tony Ralston's performances were so bad that a highlight reel of horrific passes, touches and clearances was duly produced.
The middle of the park was also anonymous. I for one don't like jumping on Callum McGregor's back, but the captain was as invisible as his two midfield partners, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels.
The attacking threat was as blunt as the back of a knife. Sebastian Tounekti, who started his Hoops career on fire, now looks like he won a competition to turn out at Celtic Park. Daizen Maeda just proved what we all had in the back of our minds: he is back to his factory setting of consistent inconsistency.
It's hard to pick positives, but maybe one thing that can spur on from this defeat is that the Celtic support will now just increase their attempts to remove the current men in charge of this mess.
Nancy now faces a tough seven away trips in his next ten days with matches at home to Aberdeen and Rangers. If the form does not turn around soon then god knows who will be in the dugout by January 1.
One thing doesn't change: the Celtic board remain asleep at the wheel as the green and white car heads towards the cliff.
