Scott Bain has given an interesting take on Wilfried Nancy’s short time at Celtic, saying some Hoops players he spoke to felt the Frenchman had ideas that could have worked.

Nancy’s spell at Parkhead is not remembered with much warmth. It was short, difficult and results quickly went against him. Martin O’Neill was eventually brought back in and helped turn the season around.

But Bain, speaking on Open Goal, offered a bit more detail on how Nancy was viewed. The former Celtic goalkeeper was not trying to dress it up as a success, but he did suggest the plan itself was not written off by everyone.

Bain said: “Strangely we played Brendan’s team at the start of the season, they were really good at the time in terms of they gave us so much respect they went to Celtic Park to play out and they pressed man for man all over us and then we never got the Nancy spell which was unfortunate.

“We got Martin O’Neill’s first game back.

“I think from just watching the Nancy and I’ve spoken to boys and boys did say he had great ideas and he thought some of them thought it could actually work.”

That is a line that will stand out. Bain has only recently left Celtic and still knows plenty of people around the game, so his view carries a bit of weight.

Nancy never really got the time to let those ideas settle. At Celtic, that is always the problem when results start to go the wrong way. A manager can have a clear plan, but if the team looks unsure and points are being dropped, the patience disappears very quickly.

Alistair Johnston has spoken in a similar way before about Nancy’s football, saying there was sense behind the ideas even if the spell itself did not work. Bain’s comments now add another view to that, while still accepting the obvious point that Celtic needed O’Neill to come in and steady things.

The contrast between the two managers is clear. Nancy may have had detailed ideas, but O’Neill brought something Celtic needed straight away. Bain has already described him as a motivator who reminded players what it means to play for the club and gave the squad belief again.

That was the difference at the time. Celtic did not need a long bedding-in period. They needed someone who could get results, settle the dressing room and guide the team through awkward games.

Bain’s comments will not change the way most supporters look back on Nancy’s spell. It ended badly and left the club needing another reset.

But they do give a little more context. Some inside the game clearly felt there was something there. The issue was that Celtic, in the middle of a title fight, was never going to be the place for a slow rebuild when the results were not coming.