Spoon fed Daily Record leads the way on Nancy arrival

The Daily Record are continuing to be spoon fed Wilfried Nancy good news stories.

Back on November 14 Michael Gannon reported that moves to appoint the Columbus Crew boss were at an advanced stage.

Nothing like going in too early.

That update came midway through the international break, the obvious period to appoint a permanent manager following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers.

Three days later Celtic announced that Martin O’Neill was preparing the players for the St Mirren match. And at least three more as it turns out.

On Tuesday night the Record announced:

Incoming Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy will finally arrive in Glasgow tonight as he gets set to take over the reins at Parkhead.

Record Sport understands Nancy will touch down in Scotland on Tuesday evening as he prepares to be unveiled as Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor. And the Frenchman could be in the stands for Wednesday night’s clash at home to Dundee – before making his dugout bow in Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with Hearts.

‘Could’. Just as he could have been at Easter Road on Sunday but wasn’t.

Nancy, 48, and Hoops chiefs have been finalising paperwork after the appointment was delayed by red tape. However, Nancy is now expected to be officially announced as the club’s new manager in the next 48 hours, ending the club’s five-week search for a new manager.

Reporters love the defence mechanism of 48 hours. A time frame that allows their prediction to fall through and one that readers generally won’t track.

Using the same negotiating skills in play during the summer transfer window it has taken Celtic more than five weeks to replace Brendan Rodgers.

TIMELINE

On October 27 Celtic announced that Rodgers had retired, Columbus Crew played their final match of the season on November 8. Nancy has been available since that date.

Between November 9 and 23 Celtic played no matches due to World Cup qualifiers.

Now it seems that Celtic are about to present their new manager with three high profile matches inside eight days.

A top of the table match against Hearts, a Europa League tie and a cup final.

Any media conference for the new manager is going to be squeezed into a very tight schedule.

At least Nancy knows what to expect when the January transfer window opens. A few loan deals and Paul Tisdale punts in the final few days are more likely than the January 2022 arrivals of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yusuki Ideguchi on December 31.