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By JOHN MCGARRY Published: 04: 30 AEDT, 12 January 2026 | Updated: 04: 40 AEDT, 12 January 2026 View comments In the mid 1980s, producers of the long-running American soap opera Dallas found a novel way to deal with the plummeting viewing figures which came after they foolishly bumped off one of the stars of the show. Bobby Ewing’s reappearance in the famous shower scene came despite the fact that he’d been killed in an accident at the end of the previous season. The explanation for this remarkable turn of events? Having tuned in at the start of the next series, viewers learned — to their considerable amazement — that everything had simply been dreamt up by his ex-wife Pamela. Dear old Bobby had actually never left this world. It had all just been a terrible misunderstanding. Please discard all related plot lines and move along. Nothing to see here. By the time Celtic supporters were making their way back to their cars on Saturday evening, the Wilfried Nancy episode was also starting to feel like a fevered night tremor. Alas, as an abysmal run of two wins from eight games will forever illustrate, it was all too real. Martin O’Neill’s return to the dug-out 39 days after he last stood there for the visit of Dundee brought some much-needed order and sanity to proceedings. Yang Hyun-jun is hailed by his team-mates after putting Celtic ahead against Dundee United Returning hero Martin O'Neill keeps a close eye on match data along with his backroom staff Benjamin Nygren strikes a pose after coming off the bench to score Celtic's third goal For anyone who’d been living in a cave and happened to miss the entire Nancy debacle, there was probably nothing to see here. Organised and structured, with square pegs placed back in square holes, Celtic pretty much picked up where they left off when O’Neill signed off with a win against the other half of Tayside on December 3. Central defenders playing as a cohesive pair. Full-backs primarily tasked with defensive duties. Wingers being tasked to beat their men and deliver crosses. Midfielders tackling, combining and moving off the ball. In short, no one being asked to do anything they weren’t capable of. Clear and concise instructions. Football really is as complicated a game as you want to make it. While there’s little to be gained by anyone at Celtic looking back over their shoulders now, everything O’Neill’s side showed against Dundee United underscored what a complete misfit Nancy was for the club. Did anyone in authority even ask the Frenchman if he planned on imposing a 3-4-3 formation in the middle of a season? If not, why not? If that was the intention of the Columbus Crew manager, did anyone involved raise a red flag at this ludicrous and patently unworkable suggestion? Winger Yang was impressive for Celtic and took his goal well for the second week in a row Nancy and his host of contradictions may be no more, but such a gargantuan error of judgment surely cannot be swept under the carpet. It caused untold damage. Supporters deserve an explanation as to how it was able to happen and who exactly was involved. This isn’t a soap opera. It’s supposedly elite level sport. Celtic’s hierarchy should be eternally grateful that O’Neill didn’t take umbrage at them when they thought better of extending his first interim spell. From the first whistle on Saturday, the players looked better for being under his wings for a few days. The body language was all positive. They played instinctively and with renewed belief. Criticised for his display against Rangers, Kasper Schmeichel was assured in everything he did. Kieran Tierney’s head looked clear as he moved from the left side of a back-three to left-back. The Scot was involved in the first two goals. Liam Scales, who was bizarrely eased out under Nancy, imposed his presence on United’s front line. Callum Mc Gregor looked like he’d rather be in Glasgow than Saudi Arabia, although that matter remains unresolved. Arne Engels also played like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Hyun-jun Yang was a blur of activity on the flank. Aside from an out-of-sorts Reo Hatate, O’Neill didn’t have a failure in his side. On point in their pressing, they carved United open time and again through open play. When they lost the ball, they hunted it down. Gone was the vulnerability to the counterattack which saw Nancy’s side concede 18 times in those eight matches. Arne Engels turns to celebrate as his effort hits the back of the net to put Celtic two goals up A first clean sheet since the Dundee game was just reward for a diligent defensive display. Maybe Celtic will no longer need to score twice to have a chance of salvaging a draw. They managed four here and they could have had many more. Yang scored a screamer against Rangers only for it to be quickly forgotten in all the chaos which followed, but this contribution against United really meant something. Drilling Scales’ lay-off into the far corner from the edge of the box on 27 minutes with his right foot, the winger understandably milked the moment. O’Neill, notably, hardly celebrated. When Engels swept home Tierney’s cross to make it two five minutes later, United already had the look of a beaten side. Victorious against Nancy’s ramshackle side at Tannadice before Christmas, Jim Goodwin feared his men would face a different Celtic on Saturday. He was bang on the money. His side had a few chances to make it interesting — one for Dario Naamo and two for Owen Stirton. On each occasion, in keeping with their display, they lacked conviction. Their faint hopes of taking something went up in smoke when skipper Ross Graham stooped to block Engels’ shot early in the second half. Benjamin Nygren fired the loose ball high into the net. Three and easy. United keeper Dave Richards erred when he failed to turn Seb Tounekti’s shot away for a corner. Daizen Maeda reacted smartly to make it four. Daizen Maeda rounded off the scoring with the fourth goal on a day of rare joy for Celtic It said much about the dominance of O’Neill’s side that they’d committed all five substitutes with 18 minutes remaining. After looking so flat for large periods under Nancy, spreading some minutes throughout the squad would have pleased the Northern Irishman no end. There were no prizes for guessing why the raft of chances Celtic created didn’t lead to more goals. The issue caused by the club failing to recruit a No 9 of the requisite pedigree in successive transfer windows could not have been clearer. Maeda is a fine player who had the season of his life last year. In the here and now, though, he just doesn’t possess the instinct to be in the right place at the right time when wingers are crossing the ball for fun. Having fallen short in their attempt to replace Kyogo Furuhashi with, er, Kyogo Furuhashi, Celtic might want to start acting like a serious football club and get a deal over the line without any further delay. For all Nancy was clearly the wrong guy, it was a short-lived episode from which Celtic can certainly recover. The script of a hitherto dismal season can still be rewritten.
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