It took Ange Postecoglou less than a month to realise that Olivier Ntcham had nothing to offer him.
He had taken the player aside and spoke to him and offered him a chance.
The player proved utterly unworthy of it.
Whatever the manager saw in his brief time on the pitch, or in training, hasn’t been enough to convince him.
The player himself hasn’t even bothered to wait for Celtic to make the announcement; he announced it himself on Instagram. He’s been released. It’s a colossal waste of talent and money.
His thanks to the fans should cut no ice whatsoever.
A handful of good performances doesn’t erase the contempt he’s shown for his club, his team-mates and yes, we the fans.
We’ll always have Rome, aye, but not much else.
Ntcham was a lazy sod, an arrogant player who thought himself too good for Scotland.
Shockingly, he showed a penchant for actually downing tools on the pitch, a trait which was most obvious when he orchestrated his red card at St Mirren apparently because he simply couldn’t be bothered putting in a performance that day.
He believed the media hype that his agents had drummed up about interest from top leagues and top clubs.
None of it materialised, because people who watched him saw how little he cared and how little he was willing to contribute and the shocker is that Ntcham could have given us a lot because beneath that “who cares?” attitude there’s actually a footballer and a very good one at that.
His message doesn’t suggest that he’s found a club.
His loan spells failed to impress anyone outside Parkhead, but somebody will take a chance on him.
I wonder if they will get more out of it than we’ve managed to go, although to be honest I really don’t care that much.
I’ve given Edouard a hard time these last few months because he meanders through games without pushing himself terribly hard.
Yet he has produced the goods in a Celtic strip more often than not, and it’s why even now you have people willing to defend him.
Ntcham will depart with few, if any, defenders at all, with no-one mourning his loss, with few caring about his departure.
He has offered us nothing for nearly two years.
He is the sterling example of a player stealing a wage, and now that Celtic has decided he’s no longer going to get away with that he can swan off and be somebody else’s problem.
Giving him a last chance had merit as long as he willing to knuckle down and take it.
He hasn’t proved worthy of it, and so that’s that.
The club is no worse off for his departure.