Everything, everywhere, all at once for Nancy.
Celtic's next 28 days.
Wilfried Nancy said he” knew the schedule would be unforgiving” before taking the Celtic job. He’s not kidding.
Saturday’s game at Livingston kicks off a hectic schedule of 8 games in 28 days for Celtic. It’s bookended by a trip to Tynecastle on January 24th, to face current league leaders and darlings of the media, Hearts.
This is a proverbial must win game. Either to keep title hopes alive, or to hopefully consolidate any lead gained between now and then.
This is the meatiest part of the season. Not completely make or break but the spell in which we can start to pencil our horizons in. Coming out of it, we’ll know far more about the mid to short-term prospects of this brow beaten bunch of players.
At the best of times, it would be unrelenting; games every three or four days can stress a well-structured, fit and in form squad. It would be a stretch to label Celtic as any of these things currently.
Add to this, the current state of flux, involved in implementing novel tactics and it would be fair to brand it as pivotal.
The ever-present drama attached to this campaign; means the team has constantly teetered on the cliff edge. One more slip could be fatal. 5 straight league games, a Scottish Cup tie and then Bologna in Europa League, all proceed the trip to Tynecastle.
It’s chance to gather momentum or grind to a halt altogether.
This 25/26 iteration of Celtic has been a nightmare. Managing to be eye-rollingly mundane and mediocre, yet unpredictable at the same time, is quite an achievement. Nancy’s most immediate task is to settle the side down. To clear the limbo and get to a place of continuity with this group – now on their 3rd manager of the season – would be a big step forward.
Livingston comes with unique challenges. Foreign to everyone, even those of us who grew up in central belt proximity. The lego stadium, a home support that could all squeeze in an Uber XL, a pitch like a well-worn carpet and a team, with the physical make-up of an NFL offensive line.
My staff told me already that the environment and the opposition, the style of play of the opposition… I’m going to watch today a few games, the way they play and so on.
It will most likely have the Frenchman’s head in a spin and despite their relegation form, it’s a tricky fixture.
Then there’s Scotland’s in form team on Tuesday night. A trip to Motherwell, is usually a comfortable three points, but this time it’s a different proposition all together. The steelmen currently sit 3rd in the table; regularly showered with plaudits for their style of play, under the stewardship of Danish manager Jens Berthel Askou. They will provide a strong test. Their success has been based on a slick, possession-based system but is also underpinned by solidity in defence. Remarkably, they’ve kept five consecutive clean sheets and conceded only twice in eight games.
Wins here would be a massive shot in the arm for Nancy and the team. Suddenly, things would be looking up. Three straight wins heading into the game on January 3rd is just the tonic, to dilute the doubts surrounding Nancy’s appointment.
Win the derby and the ball is well and truly rolling. Nothing buys you time with the support, like beating Rangers. In this case the dial would push beyond reassurance, towards excitement.
This halfway point offers us a chance to catch our breath. A rare midweek without a game, to rest and recalibrate before welcoming Dundee Utd to Parkhead, on January 10th.
Hot on the heels of that, is a tricky trip to Falkirk on the Wednesday night - the first of four straight away games - before what should be, the formality of a Scottish cup tie against Auchinleck Talbot.
Considering the level of opponent, Celtic will use this game to rest and rotate the squad before a particularly challenging week.
A trip to Italy, to face Bologna awaits on the Thursday night before Tynecastle. Nancy will need to be resourceful with how he uses his players, in the run up to these two games.
All things considered: the schedule, the injuries, the implementation of new tactics and what is hopefully a busy transfer window, it’s everything, everywhere, all at once for Celtic.
The waters should hopefully calm after this period, but Nancy will need to ride out the storm until then.