IT’S TOO EASY to reflect upon the extraordinary league and Cup double in the season that has just concluded and categorise it as Martin O’Neill extending his Celtic fairy tale.
Make no mistake about it, the champions were in freefall following Wilfried Nancy’s chaotic 33 days in charge that triggered the quickfire return for the charismatic Irishman early in January.
Six defeats in eight games had the club in a tailspin and confidence appeared to have been obliterated among a squad of dispirited performers who were there for the taking – and our opponents knew it.
St Mirren showed no fear in the Premier Sports League Cup Final and, although we might be loathe to admit it, the silverware went to the better team on the day.
That can be filed under ‘Words I Thought I Would Never Write.’
THE DREADED TACTICS BOARD…Wilfried Nancy attempts to explain where Celtic are going wrong to skipper Callum McGregor during the Frenchman 2-1 home debut defeat from Hearts in December.
Irrevocably, Nancy had proved he had been a bad fit from day one. To change the entire training routine and alter the playing formation just 24 hours before his Parkhead debut in the Premiership against Hearts was undisputedly bonkers.
Derek McInnes couldn’t believe his good fortune when the Frenchman produced his Toys R Us plastic tactics board and called over a bewildered captain Callum McGregor to demonstrate how to move around little coloured pieces all over the place.
Celtic were two goals adrift at the time and were well on their way to abject defeat in an encounter where they had the opportunity to go back to the top of the league with a win.
In the fading moments of an instantly forgettable display, Kieran Tierney scored to put a better complexion on the scoreline, but no-one was fooled.
If this was how Nancy planned to make a favourable first impression, then we all knew it was time to buckle up in anticipation of a bumpy ride ahead.
This was the depressing scenario into which O’Neill was catapulted for a second time during a tumultuous campaign. After the concession of 12 points, a humiliating Cup Final experience and a three-goal Europa League trouncing at Parkhead, the dark, foreboding clouds were gathering in the east end of Glasgow.
The veteran gaffer, a mere 73 years old at the time – his 74th birthday was still just under two months away – was once again tasked with sprinkling some stardust among the gloom and doom.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Martin O’Neill ponders how to conjure up another piece of magic in the new season.
O’Neill, of course, succeeded, much to the delight of many – and, it appeared, to the obvious despair of just about everyone else.
And here we are today, dear friends. Once more we are asking a venerable individual to dig deep into his resources of energy, determination, enthusiasm and ambition.
In fact, to continue the romantic notion this charming personality is the possessor of a magic wand to excorcise the demons who almost made life intolerable for anyone of a Celtic persuasion during a turbulent crusade.
Once more, we are invited into Hans Christian Andersen territory.
But, please remember, not every fairy tale has a happy ending.
In the original tale of Little Red Riding Hood, written by Charles Perrault in 1697, the little girl is eaten by the big bad wolf.
The poor, old grandmother had served as a hors d’oevre before Little Red Riding Hood served as the main course.
Later adaptations, most notably by the Brothers Grimm, rewrote the conclusion to introduce a woodsman who took care of the nasty canis lupus.
And by the time Walt Disney had got to work, everything was sweetness and light in that little log cabin in the middle of the forest. The treacherous wolf didn’t stand a chance.
However, the inaptly-named Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney are no longer here to intercede when things go drastically wrong.
Martin O’Neill is no miracle-worker. He will require the assistant of a woodsman or two to oversee a monumental summer overhaul of the squad.
This is real life, folks.
ALEX GORDON
