Celtic: Does Wilfried Nancy ‘know what he’s walked in to’ amid horror start?

The camera cut to Nancy as the players walked through a packed Celtic Park and a stirring rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone echoed through the stadium.

Disco lights, lavishly lit for these European nights, shone towards the Frenchman.

Hart said the area in Glasgow’s east end was a “special place” for such occasions, but the mood had soured recently.

Long before Nancy’s arrival, the club was torn by discord.

Last summer’s events – recruitment woes, Champions League dismay, Brendan Rodgers’ acrimonious departure – had cast a long shadow.

Martin O’Neill’s temporary charge at the club stabilized the situation with seven wins from eight matches and morale rising.

But by the time Roma’s fourth goal was ruled out in the closing stages on Thursday, most of the crowd had gone home. Many fans had seen enough.

“It breaks my heart to see [Celtic Park] like that,” Hart said. “The atmosphere isn’t there. This is a very special football club, but it is only special when it is united.

“It’s not easy for a new manager and a new system, but it’s not rocket science and Nancy needs to learn quickly.”

Perhaps the only thing the green and white could agree on was that Roma were furious as they raced to a second win in Glasgow this term.

“It wasn’t good enough, especially in the first half, we lost too many duels and too many sloppy balls,” said midfielder Arne Engels, who missed a penalty in the first half.

“We know we can do better and hopefully we can keep going because we have the final in a few days. We have to keep our heads up and move on.

“It’s up to us to react. We have to take care of ourselves to continue our performance.”