“One of the hegemons of Scottish football is currently going through far from the best of times…”, — write: sport.ua
Last season’s latest golden triumph finally allowed Celtic to match Rangers for the most Scottish league titles won. Now both giants have 55 victories each in the elite division of local football and it seemed that the “Celts” will very soon come out ahead in the original dispute of who is the coolest in Scotland, but… The 2025/26 season, at least so far, is shaping up to be unusually bad for “Celtic”. Moreover, right now it can be stated that the club in general has found itself in a total crisis, to get out of which it is not enough to simply improve the results on the field – it will require much more effort and work, including from the management…
Celtic entered the new year in second place in the 2025/26 Premiership standings. Separation of “Celts” from “Hearts”, which is in the lead and dreams of its first championship in Scotland since the very distant 1960 (in total, the “dark maroons” became the strongest team in the country four times, but all their successes date back to a historically very distant period – two “golds” were taken at the end of the 19th century and “Hearts” twice won titles at the border 50-60s of the last century), is only three points. It would seem like a real trifle, if not for one important clarification: usually by this period of the year, “Celtic” already collects a sufficient number of points to very quietly bring the entire season in the Premiership to a logical conclusion and celebrate another championship.
And in third place, right behind Celtic, is Rangers. “Teddy Bears” are inferior to “Celts” by the same three points, and already on January 3, two irreconcilable opponents in the open spaces of Scotland will meet in a face-to-face match within the framework of the 21st round of the championship, which will be held on the “Celtic” field. And despite the latter factor, many pundits do not see the perennial Scottish champions as favorites for the upcoming clash, with Wilfrid Nancy’s side currently in the doldrums…
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Wilfrid Nancy Failures began for “Celtic” back in August. Then the Scottish giants were sensationally eliminated in the play-off round of the Champions League qualification by Kairat. The Kazakh club, which currently occupies the last place in the standings of the general stage of the most prestigious club tournament in Europe, managed to draw twice against the “Celts” (0:0, 0:0), and then eliminated the title opponent in a penalty shootout (3:2).
This opened a season of chaos for Celtic, associated with sensational resignations, accusations of betrayal, fan riots and a significant deterioration in sports results. Since the departure of Brendan Rodgers from the position of head coach of “Celtic” in October, many other completely unforeseen events have happened at the club: a meeting of the board of directors was disrupted by fans, the resignation of the president of the club Peter Lovell, finally four consecutive defeats in official matches under the leadership of the new head coach, which became the worst period in the history of “Celts” since 1978 …
But the results on the field are not the main problem for “Celtic”. Currently, the club is seriously feverish in terms of managerial decisions. On December 17, Peter Lovell, who worked for many decades in the “Celts” camp, first in the role of general director (from 2003 to 2021), and then in the position of president himself, was forced to announce his resignation from the position of president.
Lovell’s resignation was led to fierce protests by Celtic fans, who immediately after the news of the top functionary’s departure published a post on social networks with the following content: “One left, others will follow”, accompanied by photos of the club’s president, as well as CEO Michael Nicholson and CFO Chris McKay. Each of them turned out to be crossed out with red lines, after which a banner with a completely similar meaning appeared in the stands of Celtic fans in the match against Dundee United, which symbolically ended with another fiasco for the Celtics (1:2).
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine In addition to the protest banners against the club’s management, in that game with Dundee United, Celtic fans chanted insults at the team’s 48-year-old French coach Wilfried Nancy, who became the first specialist in the club’s history to lose all of his first three official matches in charge of the first team.
The latter came amid a successful return to Celtic for Martin O’Neill, who won seven out of eight matches (Celts only lost in the Europa League – Denmark’s Midtjylland 1-3 away, but shortly afterwards also beat Feyenoord 3-1 away in the same tournament) as acting head coach, leading the team to final of the Scottish League Cup after a semi-final victory over Rangers (3:1). In addition, the team’s confident performance under the leadership of O’Neill led to the fact that “Celts” drew level on points with “Hearts” and effectively arranged a two-man power in the standings of the Premiership, but after the game with “Dundee” (1-0) on December 3, the coach left…
O’Neill’s words that he would “be happy to stay” if the club offered him to do so fueled fans’ nostalgia for earlier glory days. It was Martin, more than anyone else in the modern era, who brought Celtic closer to European glory. His surprise return to Celtic Park, more than twenty years after his first spell at the club, followed Rodgers’ resignation, which was followed by a scathing statement from the club’s owners.
Rodgers’ departure would seem to have left Celtic in a state of total disarray. In a statement accompanying Brendan’s farewell, Dermot Desmond, the Irish billionaire and major Celtic shareholder who influences the management of the club, accused the ex-manager of the team of selfishness, blaming Rodgers for creating a toxic and hostile atmosphere in the management.
Rogers did not shy away from criticizing the quality of the composition, comparing the task entrusted to him with the control of a Honda Civic, but with the expected results as from a Ferrari. It was this attack by the English specialist that marked the point of no return in his relationship with the owners. Discontent at a certain point spilled into the club’s general meeting, which turned into a full-scale protest by fans: directors were booed, symbolic red cards were shown, and slogans were chanted against the board of directors, which eventually led to the premature cancellation of the meeting. The situation was further exacerbated after the Green Brigade ultras were banned from attending matches and participating in the life of the club for a series of incidents which the Celtic board described as “intimidating”, including threatening posters placed outside the homes of some directors. President Lovell, who had already been the victim of an arson attack on his home in 2021, eventually decided to resign, explaining that the threats had become “unbearable” for him and his family.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Peter Lovell Saying goodbye to “Celtic”, Lovell emphasized that during his long career in the club, he became successful in the domestic arena and achieved consistently positive results in European tournaments. Desmond and Nicholson publicly expressed their regret at Lovell’s decision to leave, and also condemned fans for the insults they expressed towards the former president of the club. CEO Nicholson’s interview with the club’s official TV channel after Lovell’s departure summed up the general chaos currently reigning at Celtic. In particular, the top manager had to publicly confirm his faith in the capabilities of Wilfried Nancy, despite the frankly unsuccessful current results. In particular, it was under the leadership of the Frenchman, who arrived in Scotland from the MLS (Nancy previously led Columbus Crew), that Celtic unexpectedly lost to St. Mirren (1:3) in the Scottish League Cup final.
Obviously, the situation for “Celtic”, at least in the eyes of the fans of this team, is worsened by the fact that on the eve of the derby with “Rangers”, the latter look a much more balanced and structured team than their favorites under the leadership of Nancy. It is no coincidence that before this duel, fans of the “teddy bears” are already actively trolling their faces in social networks with posts of the following content: “Take care of your board of directors.” Such ingenuity of Rangers fans, obviously, cannot be ignored, but their “colleagues” from “Celtic” may be ready for new, even more stormy riots against the management of the club, if in the first match of 2026 their team suffers another fiasco…