CELTIC'S abysmal run under new boss Wilfried Nancy continued today after his side deservedly lost to St Mirren in the League Cup Final at Hampden Park.
Reo Hatate levelled the match at 1-1 with a great finish from Kieran Tierney's cross midway through the first half after Marcus Fraser's second-minute opener.
However, despite Celtic having the lion's share of possession, it was the Buddies who were the more clinical as they carved open their opponents' frail defence.
First, Jonah Ayunga calmly nodded home on 64 minutes to make it 2-1 after Kasper Schmeichel hesitated to come for Alex Gogic's cross.
Declan John then raced on to Miguel Freckleton's long ball out from the back before giving Colby Donovan and Auston Trusty the slip in the box and putting it on a plate for the unmarked Ayunga to slot home.
That made it 3-1 after 76 minutes and there was little sign of a Celtic fightback as the Buddies saw out the game to claim just their fifth major trophy.
Pressure on Nancy
Nancy is barely in the door but he'll no doubt be looking over his shoulder after overseeing three defeats so far.
After losing to league leaders Hearts on his debut, Nancy became the first Celtic boss to lose his opening two games when his side slumped to a 3-0 Europa League defeat to Roma in midweek.
Today's reverse marks the first time in five years that Celtic have lost three games in a row — in late 2020, they lost Europa League games away to Sparta Prague and AC Milan either side of a League Cup last-16 home defeat to Ross County.
Hearts, Roma and a cup final against St Mirren were three difficult games to begin a reign but there have been few signs that things might improve in the uninspired performances under Nancy.
It's not all on the manager, with Celtic's squad clearly needing improvement, but predecessor Brendan Rodgers and interim boss Martin O'Neill managed to get results and performances from the same players.
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson celebrates his side’s Scottish League Cup victory (Image: Paul Devlin / SNS Group via Getty Images)Rodgers regularly brought up the lack of quality in the squad and after a summer of questionable recruitment, he quit nine games into the league season with his side having already been knocked out of the Champions League at the play-off stage.
After majority shareholder Dermot Desmond's scathing statement about the Co. Antrim man in the wake of his departure, the board got the man they wanted in Nancy following O'Neill's successful spell as interim boss.
The question now is, do they stand by their choice in the hope Nancy can turn it around before backing him in January transfer window?
The League Cup has evaded the Hoops and their European hopes are looking precarious but they can draw level with Hearts at the top of the table if they win their two games in hand.
Despite his poor start, it would be somewhat rash to axe Nancy so early in his Celtic career.
However, if he does survive in the short term, a tricky run of three away games in the next four league fixtures before the turn of the year could prove decisive for both the manager and Celtic's title hopes.
'I'm so proud of them'
While it was a woeful afternoon for Nancy, it was third time lucky for St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson, who lost to Celtic in both domestic cup finals in the 2017-18 season while managing Motherwell.
The Lisburn native said that while people will argue the Hoops aren't currently at their best, he was proud of his side beating a team of Celtic's standing.
Celtic clearly have issues to address this season and haven't recruited well, however, their squad is still valued at €126.5m by Transfermarkt, more than 15 times St Mirren's €7.5m panel.
"That's a top, top Celtic side with top players and my boys have stood up and been counted today and I'm so proud of them," Robinson told Premier Sports.
