CELTIC fell to a 2-0 defeat at Falkirk on Sunday as they racked up a sixth loss in their last 10 games.
Ethan Ross and Scott Tanser exploited some slack defending to give the Bairns a 2-0 half-time lead at the Falkirk Stadium.
They looked to have made it 3-0 shortly after the break but Jacob Murrell's effort was eventually chalked off for handball.
The visitors roused themselves after that but despite dominating possession they were toothless up front.
Even when they did find the target, former Celtic keeper Scott Bain was in superb form to deny anything coming his way as Falkirk secured a first win over Celtic for 19 years.
With both Rangers and Hearts in League Cup action this week, the result leaves Celtic four clear at the top but with their rivals each having a game in hand.
It could thus prove a costly defeat, coming just days after the Hoops could only manage a draw at home against Dundee United.
Honeymoon period over
Celtic got out of jail last season when it looked like they were consigned to a trophyless campaign.
Already a Celtic legend, Martin O'Neill enhanced his legacy by twice rescuing the Hoops and leading them to a memorable double.
After taking the reins for another season, a slew of signings and an eye-catching start to the campaign made it look as though the travails of last term were put to bed.
The 5-1 defeat to LASK was both humbling and costly as it saw the club miss out on the Champions League but four subsequent wins on the bounce suggested it may have been a blip.
However, since a 1-0 win at St Johnstone almost two months ago, Celtic have lost six of their ensuing 10 games.
Compounding the Champions League exit, Celtic were unceremoniously dumped out of the League Cup by city rivals Rangers.
The Ibrox side also took the spoils at Celtic Park in the first league derby of the season.
Having narrowly missed out on the Champions League, Celtic fans would have expected a decent run in Europe's second-tier competition.
Instead, their hopes of progressing hang by a thread with three defeats from three, above only bottom side Ararat Armenia on goal difference.
Last month's 7-1 mauling of Hearts, initially hoped to be a turning point, now stands out as an anomaly in Celtic's recent results.
O'Neill is a Celtic hero but the honeymoon period of his second permanent spell in charge is over and there is no denying he will be under pressure following Sunday's defeat.
Speaking after the game, he expressed his disappointment, adding: "Celtic are not used to losing football matches, certainly not recently."
However, six defeats in his last 10 games, including a League Cup exit, is akin to Wilfried Nancy's brief tenure.
The Frenchman — bookended by O'Neill's caretaker spells last season — lost six of his eight games in charge between December 7, 2025 and January 3, 2026, including the League Cup Final.
The last Celtic manager to lose six games across 10 matches was Neil Lennon between October 17, 2020 and December 6, 2020.
As with Nancy, it included a League Cup exit and a home league defeat to Rangers — ominous parallels to Celtic's current run under O'Neill.
Unlike Nancy, Lennon survived that run but didn't see out the season, quitting after a league defeat to Ross County in February 2021 with Celtic trailing Rangers by 18 points.
After reinvigorating Celtic at the turn of the century and salvaging last season, O'Neill will always be welcome at Celtic Park.
He will presumably be given time to turn things around and won't suffer as ignominious or expeditious an exit as Nancy.
However, just how patient the board and the fans will be remains to be seen.
Bain frustrates former club
After another goalless outing against Dundee United from record signing Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran was once again chosen to lead the line at Falkirk.
O'Neill also made changes elsewhere, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming in for Benjamin Nygren in midfield while Cameron Carter-Vickers made his first start since September having recovered from injury.
However, it was something of an inauspicious return for the American.
After just three minutes, his attempted clearance was blocked by Finley Barbrook, who sent Ryan Strain off down the right.
As Carter-Vickers attempted to cut out Strain's ball into the box, he inadvertently teed it up for Ross to stab home for an early opener.
Duran struck the post as Celtic tried to drag themselves level before he was denied twice by the impressive Bain, who made 78 appearances in seven-and-a-half seasons at Celtic.
The missed chances proved costly, however, as Tanser doubled the hosts' lead after 38 minutes, playing a give-and-go with Owen Eames before gliding past Carter-Vickers and firing home.
Duran came closest to reducing the deficit before the interval but once again found Bain in top form.
It seemed to go from bad to worse shortly after the break when Liam Henderson nodded Deniss Melniks' throw onto the back post where Murrell looked to have tucked it away.
However, the visitors were saved when replays showed the ball came off the post and hit the American's hand before bouncing off his hip and in.
Celtic finally roused themselves but Bain denied Colby Donovan and James Forrest before Callum McGregor sent a gilt-edged chance wide.
Duran made way for Hogh after 65 minutes but the game continued in much the same vein, Bain superbly denying Forrest and Nygren while Scales sent a decent chance over the bar.
For all Celtic's toiling, Falkirk looked capable of seeing out the game and did so for a fourth consecutive win that lifts them to fourth.
'Very poor goals'
Speaking afterwards, O'Neill acknowledged Bain's heroics as well as his own side's defensive failings.
"It's disappointing to lose the game but we created a lot of chances and on another day we could have scored about five," he told Celtic TV.
"It didn't happen, the goalkeeper made some really fantastic saves and sometimes it goes like that.
"We conceded, from our viewpoint, two obviously very poor goals.
"The first one we should clear and then after that we were chasing the game but we had relentless pressure and should have scored in both halves."
He added: "Overall, we still created a lot of chances and I think that's the point that I want to take out of it."
Perhaps, as the manager said, Celtic could have scored five on another day and it was just one of those days where things go like that.
But with twice as many loses in the last 10 games as wins, the regularity of defeats will be a concern for fans.
It doesn't get much easier for Celtic as they next face Besiktas at home in the Europa League on Thursday.
After that, they have a good opportunity to get more league points on the board with consecutive home games against second-bottom Kilmarnock and eighth-placed St Mirren.
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