CELTIC Football Club announced on Monday afternoon that they have parted ways with manager Wilfried Nancy and Head of Football Operations Paul Tisdale after a string of poor results which culminated in a 3-1 derby defeat on Saturday afternoon.

The now former Celtic boss was relieved of his duties after he recorded six defeats during his eight game tenure as the manager of the Parkhead club.

Celtic confirmed the departure of Wilfried Nancy alongside his entire backroom staff along with the shock announcement that Paul Tisdale had left his post as Head of Football operations, something that a growing number of fans have been calling for in recent months.

An official club statement read: "Celtic Football Club today announces that it has decided to terminate the contract of manager Wilfried Nancy, with immediate effect. 
 
"The Club thanks Wilfried for his efforts and wishes him and his family well for the future.
Wilfried's assistants, Kwame Ampadu, Jules Gueguen, and Maxime Chalier, will also be leaving the club and they take with them our good wishes."

The statement continued to confirm that Paul Tisdale had also left his role.
 
"The Club can also confirm that Paul Tisdale has left his position as Head of Football Operations. We thank Paul for the contribution he has made in that role.
 
"A further update will be provided to supporters as soon as is practical."

Celtic supporters on social media spoke of their relief that a decision over Nancy's future has finally been made after Celtic collapsed after leading 1-0 at half-time and conceded three second-half goals to rivals Rangers on Saturday.

James Mervyn, head of Grange CSC in Belfast, spoke to Belfast Media about the departure and said that the writing was on the wall for the Frenchman.

“Nancy’s stubbornness, arrogance and flawed philosophy of how football should be played cost him his job, it’s as simple as that," he said. “He came in and straight away  ignored the simple advice of Martin O’Neill – just win no matter how or what."

Nancy leaves the Hoops six points adrift in the league; this after his opening fixture could have seen him take the Parkhead side back to the summit in Scotland.

Five weeks on from his arrival the former MLS Coach of the Year looked out of his depth when the Hoops suffered three defeats in the space of seven days. A huge defeat to Hearts at home in his first game in charge was followed by a European drubbing against Italian giants Roma but the writing was on the wall when St Mirren overcame Celtic at Hampden Park to clinch the first silverware of the season, lifting the League Cup.

The Hoops fell to another defeat despite taking an early lead at Tannadice to Dundee United, but the following Sunday saw Nancy buy some much-needed time after a 3-1 victory over Aberdeen followed up by a chaotic 4-2 victory over bottom side Livingston.

Defeat to Motherwell at Fir Park gave Nancy one more crack at the job and with an emotional press conference prior to the home derby, he looked like a man faced with his final chance.

Celtic took the lead on Saturday against Rangers but it was the same old tale under Nancy, unable to build on a single goal lead and an embarrassing second-half performance saw the manager looking defeated on the touchline.

The not so shocking announcement on Monday evening saw Celtic officially confirm the worst kept secret in football which was that Martin O'Neill would return for a third spell in charge of Celtic as he replaces Nancy in the Parkhead hot seat.

The Irishman has returned the club and will be supported by Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham as assistants, as well as Stephen McManus, who will join existing coaches, Gavin Strachan, Stevie Woods and Greg Wallace to oversee first-team matters. 

While speaking about being pleased to have returned to Celtic, Martin O’Neill also expressed his sympathy for Wilfried Nancy following the Frenchman’s departure from the club.

The Derry native sat down with Celtic TV on Monday evening and confirmed his delight to return once more after a 33-day hiatus which saw him voluntarily leave to allow Wilfried Nancy to take the reigns, but a disastrous spell has the Hoops board breaking the emergency glass and calling for the former St Malachy's school boy to see out the campaign.

Speaking to Celtic TV, Martin O’Neill said: “I’m obviously very pleased and privileged to be back at the football club, but in circumstances like this, with Wilfried leaving the club, that just seems a wee bit strange at this moment.

“We know we’re in a big fight. We’re going to try and win the league. It won’t be easy, although it never is, but we’re halfway through the season, we’ve got a big fight on our hands, so we have to be up to the challenge.”

Paul John Dykes, Host of Celtic podcast, A Celtic State of Mind, spoke earlier in the day calling for the board to back O'Neill and "give him the tools for success".

"Big clubs make big decisions. This is a real opportunity now for Celtic to reset as a club and now the men in charge have no room for error."

O'Neill was a guest at a Q&A in Glasgow on Monday evening, after the announcement the hundreds in attendance honoured the entrance of the new manager with a huge round of applause, whilst the name "Martin O'Neill" rang out through the theatre.

The Hoops boss will begin a third spell with a home fixture with Dundee United on Saturday afternoon.