Celtic midfielder Luke McCowan insists things have never been as bad at Celtic as they are just now, as the defending champions were defeated 3-1 at Celtic Park to bitter rivals Rangers.

It is the sixth defeat in only eight games under Wilfried Nancy, who replaced popular interim manager Martin O’Neill at the beginning of December, who won seven of his eight games in temporary charge.

And McCowan feels that this is the worst state of affairs at Parkhead in living memory.

He said: “Let’s call a spade a spade, when has it ever been this bad? It’s never.

“You’re asking fans to react to something for the first time they’re seeing it, and us as players for the first time we’re feeling it.

“It’s not nice. I’ll tell you that as a player’s perspective. It doesn’t leave you. It haunts you every minute of every day when you’re not winning.

“Getting home, not speaking to anybody, sitting on the couch, not moving, just doing that black screen instead of having the darts or having the football highlights on.

“But, as I said, that is what it comes with playing with Celtic. You need to take that pressure on. You need to get there. You need to show personality and at times within games, we’ve not done that good enough.”

Manager Wilfried Nancy has faced huge backlash from the Celtic support after his catastrophic start to life, yet former Dundee man McCowan and the squad remain behind the Frenchman.

“We have to be [behind him]. He’s the manager. I don’t know what else to say on it, but he is the manager, so what do we do?

“We just need to be together collectively, get better together, and know what we did wrong in the second half and go from there.”

It was a capitulation of a second half from the Hoops as Rangers equalled their points tally despite being nine behind the reigning champions when Nancy took over.

A dominant first half from Celtic seen them one ahead at the break, thanks to a solo goal from winger Hyun-jun Yang. However, a double from Youssef Chermiti and a Mikey Moore effort somehow getting beyond Kasper Schmeichel awarded Rangers their second victory at Celtic Park in as many visits.

It is the first time Celtic have been leading a match at home at half-time and went on to lose in 152 matches, which incidentally was also a 3-1 defeat to Rangers in October 2010.

A crowd of protestors gathered outside the main entrance of Celtic Park after the match, with fans anger directed mainly towards the club’s hierarchy, as well some towards their new manager, who became the quickest Celtic manager in history to lose four league games.

Celtic return to action this Saturday at home to Dundee United who beat them 2-1 less than three weeks ago, with no official announcement on the 48-year-old’s future from the club so far as they now sit six points behind leaders Hearts.