It was only supposed to be a matter of time before Eddie Howe took over at Celtic but dramatic developments on Friday saw the Parkhead club run out of it.
Talks with the former Bournemouth boss definitively collapsed as the long chase hit a brick wall.
It was widely believed that the hold-up in Howe's appointment was due to his old side being involved in the Championship play-offs, with Howe reportedly looking to bring first-team coaches Stephen Purches and Simon Weatherstone as well as the Cherries' technical director Richard Hughes to Glasgow.
Celtic are now in advanced talks with another candidate and hope to make an appointment soon.
Here's how the saga developed from January to the dramatic collapse.
Howe installed as favourite
The former Bournemouth boss was favourite even before Lennon 's departure and the market was actually closed back in January with Howe top of the betting.
That was before any negotiations took place though, and the market was later re-opened.
Neil Lennon leaves
It was February 24 when Neil Lennon left the club following a humiliating defeat to Ross County.
With Rangers on the verge of ending 10 In A Row, John Kennedy was appointed as interim boss until the end of the season.
Howe was immediately among the names touted for the job but Enzo Maresca, Steve Clarke and Chris Wilder were also said to be in the running.
Howe meets with Celtic
Howe was quickly sounded out about taking over at Parkhead and met with Dermot Desmond and Dominic McKay in London.
Outgoing chief executive Peter Lawwell was also believed to have been at the summit.
Following that meeting Howe was identified as the number one candidate.
Crystal Palace rumours
Though Howe had been identified as the top target, there were still rumours about moving elsewhere.
English Premier League side Crystal Palace were reported to be considering moving on from Roy Hodgson, with the veteran's departure later confirmed.
But Joe Ledley, who played for both clubs, told Howe to pick Parkhead.
He said: "Eddie Howe has been fantastic at Bournemouth. A few clubs down south I know are interested. Palace and Southampton, I’ve heard as well.
“If you become the manager of Celtic and do well, you’ll be loved forever.
“If you win titles and do well in the Champions League, he’ll go down in history.
“As a player, that’s what you want to do and as a manager, hopefully, Eddie will make the right decision and join Celtic. I’d love to see him there.
“That’s down to Eddie to make a decision. I’m sure there will be a few clubs after him. Who he can bring in goes a long way, so we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be difficult.”
Stubbs expresses doubts
By the end of April there were some definite concerns that the deal had not been announced.
Former Celtic star Alan Stubbs warned: "I think from Eddie Howe’s point of view he is in a really strong position.
"He is holding all the aces at this moment in time.
"From Celtic’s point of view it looks like they’ve put all their eggs in one basket and they don’t know if they are going to get their man because he’s not prepared to make a decision.
“If I was Dominic McKay and Dermot Desmond I’d be quite nervous right now.
"It’s out there, it’s public that Eddie Howe is their number one choice and if this doesn’t happen the first question to the next man is going to be 'how do you feel that you weren’t the number one choice?'
“I think a club the size of Celtic, not necessarily that they are prepared to wait, they deserve a quick answer."
Hartson shows his frustration
As things dragged on frustration started to grow.
Fans demanded that the club make their appointment, while club legend John Hartson told Howe to stop messing Celtic about.
He said: "Eddie Howe is privileged to be so sought after by Celtic.
"Celtic is a global club. Massive fanbase all around the world, it's a magnificent job.
"Especially now because you've got a big challenge. The challenge is to topple Rangers who have just won the Premiership.
"Celtic have to respond and they have to make sure they get the right man in.
"Eddie Howe is um-ing and ah-ing, maybe he's decided he may well be going somewhere else.
"If he thinks he's got Celtic in the bag and he's holding out for something else coming up (then Celtic need to move on)."
'Something wrong' warning
Chris Sutton and Ally McCoist discussed the situation on BT Sport's Scottish Football Extra on April 17.
And the Rangers legend admitted he feared there was something stopping a deal being completed.
McCoist said: "I don't get it. If Eddie Howe's the man Celtic want, and Eddie Howe wants to go to Celtic, it should be done! It's as simple as that.
"So there's clearly something preventing Eddie Howe from being announced and finalised and I don't know what it is."
Deal 'agreed'
By May 12 it was being reported by talkSPORT that a deal had been agreed for Howe to sign.
The 43-year-old was said to be working on plans for his backroom staff.
Welsh talks up Howe
Celtic players were understandably reluctant to discuss the prospect of their new boss.
In May though Stephen Welsh admitted he liked the cut of the Englishman's jib: “Obviously Eddie Howe was a fantastic manager for Bournemouth over the last few years. He fits the criteria.
"He plays good football from what I saw so it’s exciting more than anything."
Board make manager admission
By this week things had dragged on so long that the Celtic board felt they had no choice but to put season tickets on sale with no man in place.
They admitted: "We had hoped to have announced the manager before providing this update, however we must now begin the renewal process to allow us to prepare for a phased and safe return to Celtic Park for our supporters."
The collapse
On Friday afternoon the worst fears of Celtic fans were finally confirmed - Eddie Howe's move had collapsed.
After pursuing their man for the best part of three months, the club will need to get a new man in quickly to appease frustrated supporters.
