Timing or tactics - what's gone wrong of late at Celtic?

Three defeats in a row under a new manager. Beaten in the past two domestic cup finals. Trailing in the Scottish Premiership.

These turbulent times are not what those associated with Celtic are used to. Add to the above list an up and down Europa League campaign and growing unrest among supporters and there is far from a festive feeling afoot this mid-December. It's more like bleak mid-winter.

However, any suggestion of a crisis may be somewhat premature. The reigning champions are behind Hearts in the league but have played two games fewer and two of the losses on Wilfried Nancy's watch have been against the Premiership leaders and Italian side Roma, two impressive sides.

Furthermore, Celtic have won nine of the past 13 available trophies and 43 in the 2000s. Such a high success rate is and always was going to be difficult to maintain, though the club are likely to remain as favourites for the league title and this season's Scottish Cup, given their financial superiority and a transfer window on the horizon.

Celtic supporters have been have their say in the wake of Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final loss to St Mirren. Here are some of the main themes...

• Iheanacho injury & Nancy backs himself - gossip
• 'Nancy a symptom of malfunctioning Celtic machine'
• St Mirren stun poor Celtic for 'once in a lifetime' Premier Sports Cup win

Timing of appointment questioned

Former Columbus Crew head coach Nancy replaced Brendan Rodgers as permanent manager after former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill returned on an interim basis, overseeing seven wins out of eight...

Scott: To go from winning seven out of eight games under O'Neill and looking like winning every game domestically and full of confidence to what we have seen these past three games is really astonishingly poor. The new manager needs to understand that the players at the club are not good enough to play his system and do not look confident to do so either. After the Roma game he should have had a change of formation to steady the ship and they would have had a better chance of lifting the cup. The manager needs to think of the team and not his vision of a crazy 3-4-3 without good enough players to execute his plan.

DJR: We have a saying in business. 'Win fast, win slow, lose fast or lose slow'… I think the club needs to recognise the experiment hasn't worked. The recruitment hasn't worked and 'lose fast'. Terminate the contract, bring in Martin and get the recruitment right in 2026 before we lose the league too. Be humble. It hasn't worked out. It's obvious to the fans, the ex-players and those players on the field. Their body language doesn't lie.

Sting (though probably not that Sting): It's time for the major shareholder to act just like he did when he appointed Martin O'Neill. The board have to take responsibility for the appointment of a manager who is clearly out of his depth. Changes need to be made at board level before any new permanent appointment is made. Dermot Desmond is the only person that can make this happen.

Andrew: Nancy and the persons who hired him are to blame for the sudden demise. Martin O'Neill was doing a good job with average players.

Tom: As sad as it was to see the match unfold, it was the wrong time to bring in Nancy. Why, just why do you change this now? Leave it for another week then go.

Calum: In a shock to absolutely no-one except the Celtic board, bringing in Nancy on this monumental week has been a complete calamity. How anyone could have justified this over letting O'Neill keep the helm until January, when Nancy could have had time to implement his own game plan, is beyond me.

Kevin: I'm actually not shocked at that result. This isn't on the manager. It's on the players to an extent as to how and why they can drop in standard so quickly? The board have to take most of the blame for these last three games. Unless O'Neill stated that he wanted to leave, I can't see any reason as to why they (any) business would just change something that's working currently in a temporary mode. I get it has to be done at some point. The timing from the board all season has been atrocious. Sometimes, I think they want a challenge from other teams and hence the hiccups every third or fourth season after success. Well done to St Mirren. Celtic have only themselves to blame.

Scott: Bring back O'Neill... ASAP!

Change the system?

Nancy has adopted what most observers have called a 3-4-3, though the manager has played down the significance of the system and preferred to focus on performance.

The Frenchman is new to Scottish and indeed European football and in Scotland in particular, the game can be very structured. That is especially true among opponents that have been reared and schooled in trying to contain and frustrate a dominant Celtic in recent years.

However, are shape and tactics the big issues?

James: Why the ball is given to Trusty when he is so slow a team of snails could get their defensive structure in place. Why each shy takes an age when ball boys used to be coached in recovery speed. Why forwards seldom shoot but pass and why do defenders not tackle but just back off. Finally, what happened to defenders at the goal posts.

Andy: System has nothing to do with this result. Simply highlights that we have too many players not fit to wear the shirt. Defenders need to defend, then give the ball to the creative players! We are caught with everyone attacking!!

Pete: Three games in, three defeats and eight goals conceded. The system does not work, Tounekti is an attacking winger with no defensive instincts, Nancy has managed to make Callum ineffective. Wrong tactics but already appears too stubborn to play our players in their correct positions. By the time the board make some form of decision our season will be over and the cabinet will be empty!

Steve: I made the point on Thursday that not one Celtic player would get a place on the Roma bench and we were deservedly beaten. Today a St Mirren team that not one player would get on the Celtic bench deservedly beat us. Because they were a well coached team with a structure and organisation that complimented the resources at their disposal.

Tony: Anyone who thinks this is on a manager who's been in for a week, mid-season, with no time to implement his style is simply not in touch with reality. This Celtic squad have been gutted for profit and barring a few decent results under club legend Martin O'Neill, are way below the standard. Wilfried Nancy has been thrown under the bus by a board not fit for purpose and the fans who want him out need to have a look at themselves. The board have fallen asleep at the wheel and will blame everyone but themselves for their failure.

Owen: It is too early to say whether Nancy will be a success at Celtic. Currently we don't have the personnel to play the style that he wants and he has not really had the time to implement his vision properly. That being said, at Celtic it's about winning trophies. The squad is good enough to have won today and that should have been the priority. The performances have been disappointing so far and I'm concerned that this losing run could continue until the transfer window opens, unless he shows more flexibility.

Room for optimism...

Some respondents turned their ire on Nancy and the club's board, who have come in for considerable criticism since Celtic's Champions League exit at the play-off stage as well as an underwhelming summer transfer window. One, Roger to be exact, was simply "speechless".

However, Celtic's resurgence under O'Neill shows how quickly things can change and the season is far from over.

Additionally, Celtic endured a trophyless season in 2020-21 and have dominated ever since so it would be foolish to write them off amid their current set-backs.

That's clearly the view of one optimistic fan.

John: Celtic will be back stronger than ever.

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