5 days ago
2
They used to say a week is a long time in football. But what about a day?
In yet another whirlwind 24 hours in Celtic's season of chaos that is 2025/26 we witnessed:
The removal of Wilfried Nancy after losing six of his eight games during a managerial spell lasting just 33 days.
The removal of Paul Tisdale, our de facto director of football since October 2024. A reign in which we replaced talents like Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn with, among others, Shin Yamada and Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
The return (the re-return?) of Martin O'Neill, Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham, now tasked with reigniting our title charge after falling six points behind leaders Hearts.
And while the season is very much salvageable at this stage, and while success between now and May remains entirely possible, any such achievement would come despite - rather than because of - the way the club has been run.
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The dysfunction on display has become impossible to ignore and it undermines any claim Celtic are being operated as a modern, elite European football club.
If we want to be taken seriously again, lessons must finally be learned.
The first, and most obvious, is the need for a proper, exhaustive and professional search for a permanent director of football.
This is not a ceremonial role, nor a convenient buffer between the boardroom and dugout. It is arguably the most important non-playing position at any serious club.
Details of Tisdale's appointment process remain vague, but it's hard to argue it was the result of a rigorous recruitment process.
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Was he demonstrably the best candidate available? Did he possess the track record, skills and character required to succeed in the role? The evidence suggests otherwise, and the consequences have been painfully clear to see.
Recruitment has been Celtic's Achilles heel for too long. Project signings, short-term thinking and a lack of coherent squad planning have left successive managers firefighting rather than building.
A competent director of football provides structure, continuity and accountability, ensuring managers inherit squads suited to their style, as opposed to the clearly mismanaged squad currently at the club.
Until Celtic embrace that reality, managerial changes will continue to feel like sticking plasters that may – or may not – see us through a season or two.
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Stability and genuine progress will remain elusive, while claims to be ambitious and even world class will again be nothing more than soundbites.
The events of this week, let alone the season so far, should not just prompt further reflection among the powers that be at Celtic, but should instead lead to real, lasting change.
Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange
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