Four months on, all change as Celtic & St Mirren meet at Hampden again
A little over four months ago, Hampden Park was the scene of unbridled joy for St Mirren and of crushing disappointment for Celtic. The Paisley Saints outplayed and outfought Wilfried Nancy's Celtic to claim the Scottish League Cup for just the second time. The Frenchman scratched his head and tried to impart instructions from his technical area, but as was the case too often during his 33-day tenure, his words failed to have the desired impact.
A second-minute header from Marcus Fraser and a second-half double from Jonah Ayunga will forever be etched in St Mirren history. Nancy trudged onto the pitch at full-time, consoling his players as black-and-white celebrations went on around them. It was his third defeat in his first three matches - a terrible opening week from which he would never recover.
Celtic looked dead and buried in a season of turmoil on and off the park, whereas St Mirren continued to enjoy heady heights under manager Stephen Robinson. The teams will meet again at the national stadium on Sunday, albeit in very different circumstances, with a final against Dunfermline Athletic at stake. St Mirren have proof they can beat Celtic - McLeish Celtic 'not good enough' for O'Neill to dream of cup glory The most obvious change from then to now is in the Celtic dugout.
Nancy lasted just eight matches - 33 days - and was dismissed along with head of football operations Paul Tisdale. His successor was also his predecessor, as Martin O'Neill took interim charge for the second time this season. Performances have sometimes been lacking and Celtic's squad is evidently flawed, but O'Neill has maintained a title challenge and taken his team back to Hampden.
One of those questionable displays was the one that got Celtic to this semi-final. In a backs-against-the-wall effort at Ibrox, Celtic had just one shot in 120 minutes against their great rivals Rangers before triumphing 4-2 on penalties after a drab goalless draw. Still, being the better side is secondary to winning and few of a Celtic persuasion will criticise their style if they win league and cup come May.