THE Green Brigade have been marking each day that passes since Celtic’s 100th day without a manager this week, holding up banners outside the stadium taking aim at new chief executive Dominic McKay, various other board members, and - due to some questionable artwork - apparently the actor Eugene Levy of American Pie fame.

But while the likenesses haven’t always been clear, the message from the Celtic fans is crystal; enough is enough.

Finally, the club look to be landing their man, albeit their second choice candidate in Ange Postecoglou. He would rank significantly lower on the supporters’ wishlist, of course.

If the Australian was in any doubt about the scrutiny that will be applied to his every move after he eventually arrives in Glasgow, he will know now, after his farewell game in charge of Yokohama F Marinos ended in a rather embarrassing Empire Cup defeat to fourth-tier Honda on penalties.

Yes, he rested most of his team, but the fact that Celtic fans were not only noting the result, but debating the calibre of opposition and how strong his line-up was, will tell him he is about to enter a whole new ball game.

Footage from the end of the match was soon circulating social media, as the Marinos supporters bid Postecoglou a warm farewell as he waved his goodbyes to the crowd. Whether a similarly polite round of applause would greet a Celtic cup exit at the hands of say, Brechin, is debatable.

That comparison is a little facetious though. Honda are the team of the motor company of the same name, and could easily join the J-League were it not for a desire to maintain their corporate identity (Yokohama F Marinos were originally the corporate team of Nissan Motors, for example), but for some fans this result set alarm bells ringing.

The fact that this game was even registering in Glasgow though, and that there are a good few Celtic supporters now familiar with the intricacies of the Japanese league set-up, is warning enough to Postecoglou that the pressure is about to be on.

In fact, it could be argued that it already is, with the Australian facing an uphill battle to win over a sceptical support before he has even started, leading some wags to conclude that he’s the only Celtic manager in history who will need a vote of confidence from the board before he’s even been unveiled.

And he comes into the job with his hands already tied by the time that has been squandered on the ultimately doomed pursuit of Eddie Howe, and then the time it has taken to finally get him to Scotland. Leaving aside the fact that upon his arrival of course, he will have to isolate for 10 days.

The Celtic squad is in urgent need of reinforcements, and fans will have little faith in the work that has been done behind the scenes by the recruitment department preparing for Postecoglou’s arrival, given their abject ratio of misses to hits last summer.

Add to that his own inexperience in dealing with budgets even close to the one Celtic will be operating with this close season, and you can see where the nerves around not only the appointment itself, but the length of time it has taken to get it over the line, are coming from.

Still, for every Celtic-supporting cynic there may be out there, there appears to be an equally vociferous backer of Postecoglou from the Australian media to defend his honour.

Antipodean pundits, coaches and former players have been lining up to assure Celtic fans that in Postecoglou, they are landing a manager of potentially world class ability, hiding in plain sight until the age of 55.

In fairness though, the apparent frustration of our Aussie friends at the dismissive attitude towards Postecoglou’s credentials in Scotland rather mirror our own whenever one of our players or managers moves south to try their luck in England.

Take Kieran Tierney, for instance, who had no shortage of English detractors telling us he was below the standard required to cut it in the Premier League simply because he had come from the Scottish Premiership.

Before long of course, pundits and fans down south were hailing his talents as if they had just discovered fire, so we should be wary of exhibiting the same arrogance that so riles us when it comes from our brethren south of the border.

The point is though, that as well as the pressure to win over a fanbase here, Postecoglou is carrying the burden of representing an entire country. Or at the very least, Australian coaches everywhere.

If he succeeds, there is a belief in Australia that he could open the door to a whole new generation of Aussie coaches to get a fair crack in Europe. By that logic though, should he fail, then that door could be slammed shut yet again.

"It's massive for Australian football in general...not only Australian coaches but Australian players," said former Socceroo John Aloisi.

"I remember when I first went over to Europe, there wasn't that respect factor there and then we had to gain it and earn it and then we went through that really good period. It's a bit like that at the moment that they're not trusting Australian players.

"But if Ange does go to Celtic, which I'm hoping and praying he does, he will open the doors because people will have to trust in Australian football again.”

So, no pressure there then.

The thing that Postecoglou’s Celtic sceptics and Australian true believers have in common though is that come the start of the season, they will all be willing him to succeed.

If he does, the fans will go from American Pie, to eating a healthy dose of humble pie. And be glad of it.