THIRTY-THREE days. That's how long French manager Wilfried Nancy lasted in the Parkhead dugout.
In most instances, 33 days is a very short period of time, being just two days over the general period of a what is considered to be a month. For context, a lunar cycle, when the moon orbits the earth, takes 29.5 days. So the now former Celtic boss just about managed to do the circuit.
That's how long it took Nancy to completely flip the form of the current Celtic squad when he was handed a chance to lead the team back top of the table after he took charge of the Hoops after Martin O’Neill laid the foundation for the new man to come in.
That was far from the reality when the former Columbus Crew boss failed to hit the ground running because of his over eagerness to place his tactical stamp on a winning team. It backfired in the worst way possible as the Hoops now sit third in the table, six behind league leaders Hearts, and now – somehow – behind their plodding Glasgow rivals Rangers.
During his short reign, Nancy recorded the worst record as Hoops boss – just two wins during his eight-game stretch. It really was a case of trying to be the eternal optimist during the Frenchman’s reign as the wins he did claim were far from pretty and during his tenure Celtic went from having conceded just two domestic goals to a whopping 18, a serious decline in results, but also sign of real frailty on the touchline.
Saturday’s disastrous derby with rivals Rangers spelled the end of the Nancy experiment, as I like to call it. The reason I think it should be so named is because if you’d told me Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney would be heralded as saviours of Celtic back when Brendan Rodgers was still in charge, I wouldn't have believed you.
Talent hunter Paul Tisdale was a close friend of Kwami Ampadu, Nancy’s assistant, and the man who had the same role during Tisdale’s spell at Exeter City, which also ended in disaster. So not only was this another horrific move from the Celtic board, it points to a common theme of nepotism.
The issue is that Celtic are so easy and predictable that I think I can pinpoint exactly where this is headed at present, and that is Shaun Maloney taking on the job as a full-time number one if this O'Neill/Maloney spell is successful. I must add that I'm not totally against the idea, but it’s just Celtic 101.
O’Neill was parachuted in again on Monday evening although he should never have been left to freeze in the emergency cabinet for five weeks. Had he continued in situ, I have no doubt Celtic would be currently sitting top of the tree and welcoming the chase; but as it happens the brilliant Celtic board appointed someone not only underqualified, but someone who only got the job because of tenuous links to others.
The whole Nancy debacle will go down as an embarrassing stain on Celtic’s proud history and despite how reliable the Frenchman was for a soundbite on his philosophy and methods, it really is a case of good riddance now that hope has been restored after his departure.
Tisdale's exit was the bigger win for me. Not only was he as much a 'Doctor of Football' as I am a Physics Professor, handing him a job as head of the football operations at one of Europe’s biggest establishments was a miscalculation of epic proportions.
The challenge that lies ahead is very much one that will require results over style and whether the Derry man can resurrect the season is open to question, such is the abject state of the club at present. But the Celtic fans now have their hero back and he has made it clear that the Hoops are in for a fight for this title and it won’t be easy.
The sorry mess leaves Celtic fans wondering who will be brought in to try and strengthen the current crop of players, which is by no means a titleworthy squad. Celtic’s 'front line', if we can call it that, is firing as many blanks as a Star Wars stormtrooper, But the real worry is that now there is no one in the operations hot seat, who picks the new signings?
Dermot Desmond famously told everyone that Brendan Rodgers had the final say, but the reality turned out to be rather different. His scathing statement when Rodgers left was nothing short of embarrassing and everyone, myself included, awaited a Rodgers' response which never came. Instead, he kept shtum and cunningly waited out the inevitable failings that the Celtic board would bring about. How right he was.
“Celtic’s structure – where the manager oversees football, the Chief Executive manages operations, and the Board provides oversight – has served the club with great success for more than two decades.” These were the words of the major Celtic shareholder back in October, and yet Celtic find themselves in a situation where they are calling on the goodwill of 'Celtic men' to bail them out once more. This is far from the “board oversight” which Desmond claims served the club so well.
The football returns on Saturday, and hopefully Martin O’Neill’s third homecoming will coincide with a ceasefire between the board’s ego and the Green Brigade.
We all know that if Celtic are going to lift any silverware they desperately need those fans who create that spark which has been sorely missed in the cold Celtic Park of recent months.
