Celtic's TV moment says it all as Wilfried Nancy timing decision proves ill-judged and damaging

St Mirren's 3-1 victory to snatch the cup off them was the nadir of what is now becoming a crisis at Celtic Park. It's not even Christmas and we've had a Champions League play-off defeat by a team from Kazakhstan, a managerial resignation, protests against the board, an abandoned annual general meeting, bans against ultras and an ever-lengthening injury list. Throw in the fact that Celtic trail Hearts by six points in the Premiership and it is clear to see that a previously all-conquering team is falling off its perch.

What a mess Celtic have quickly fallen into again. Not one team in the country fears them right now. Probably not even non-league Auchinleck Talbot, who face them in the Scottish Cup next month. And a lot can happen before then.

In the wake of Brendan Rodgers' resignation as manager at the end of October, Celtic had appeared to find some stability under the wise old owl Martin O'Neill, a commanding figure who carried some sort of bind between rebellious fans and a deeply unpopular hierarchy. Seven wins out of eight under him, plus assistant coaches Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham, tells a story - no matter how convincing or unconvincing they were. What on earth has O'Neill made of the past week?

New manager Wilfried Nancy has lost his opening three matches. This is uncharted territory for a Celtic boss. The Frenchman was thrown into high-stakes affairs against Hearts, Roma and St Mirren and has fallen woefully short on each occasion.

It is easy to point the finger of blame at Nancy. The 48-year-old is a foreigner in Scottish football. He had never set foot in the country before landing to take over ten days ago. He has instantly enforced a new formation and system of play. The results - 1-2, 0-3 and 1-3 - suggest an element of coaching naivety, perhaps even folly, in making sweeping changes too early.

There have been moments in the trio of matches where Celtic have zipped the ball about nicely, pierced opposition backlines. Losing striker Kelechi Iheanacho to another hamstring issue was a blow as he started well against St Mirren, although given his conditioning, should he have even started? Take a look at the players available to Nancy and it is evident the squad is ill-equipped to play a back three. They sorely miss injured centre-half Cameron Carter-Vickers’ calming influence and defensive nous, plus the abilities of right-back Alistair Johnston. The options out wide don’t do enough defensively.

The trip to Tannadice is so crucial now

Nevertheless, Nancy has full belief in his methods. And in time, and with the January transfer window, perhaps he will be proven correct. Right now, the issue is that his players at his disposal look uncomfortable with what they are being asked to do and bereft of self-confidence when the chips are down. Are they simply not good enough to carry out what Nancy is asking them to do, or is what he is demanding not right for the landscape he is working in? Is he getting his message across properly? Does he have full buy-in?

The next piece of evidence comes on on Wednesday night when Celtic travel to Tannadice to face Dundee United. A win is absolutely essential in the context of the title race, as it is a game in hand over Hearts, and also for Nancy.

Regardless of that outcome, the decision to parachute Nancy into the post on the eve of three massively important games is a failed gamble by the board. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but there must be thoughts of regret for not keeping the status quo a little longer. It was going well enough under O'Neill, Maloney and Fotheringham, who have all been jettisoned from the dugout. It is harsh to bring in a manager from the other side of the world and only give him a handful of training sessions to work with an injury-hit, jaded squad before major assignments. That decision has now backfired.

Some would claim making concrete decisions on an individual after their first full week in the job is inequitable. What’s happened to the probation period? You don’t get such a thing at Celtic. With a clear ideology and a penchant for fast, attacking football, Nancy was the man that the club wanted but is he the man that the club needs right now? Pushing new systems and ripping up the rule book with this squad, at this stage of the season, feels dangerous.

Critics of the Celtic board - and there are many - will use the timing of Nancy's arrival as another stick to beat them with. They see the hierarchy as absent, silent landlords who have asset-stripped the club and are unwilling to properly invest. It was notable that not one senior member was present to unveil the Frenchman, nor was there one sat alongside O'Neill at the end of October after Rodgers' departure. Turning up like that makes a difference, even when you aren’t flavour of the month.

Howls of "sack the board" permeated the Hampden air from the Celtic support on Sunday. Cup finals are supposed to be about unity. There is little of that at the club right now. A growing number of fans claim that the fish is rotting from the head down, that mismanagement at the top is affecting everyone.

All of this doesn't help Nancy, whatever his credentials to be in charge of first-team matters. Celtic's problems run deeper than him. The embattled board are banking on a football manager with no Scottish football experience and a gung-ho attitude to lead them out of the trenches. They can only hope that this searing short-term pain will bring long-term gain.