Celtic keeper Joe Hart heaped praise on his side’s fans at the weekend after the Tynecastle side failed in their attempt to quieten the away support. The English shot-stopper felt that the ticket allocation given to the Glasgow side for Sunday’s game was poor, however, that didn’t stop Celtic fans from being full of song and pushing their side to another league win. In a post-match interview Hart said:
“The fans are amazing, they go everywhere with us. It’s even sweeter to come to a stadium where they’ve tried to have as few in as possible”.
Ange Postecoglou has transformed this Celtic team since taking charge back in June 2021. A big part to play in that has been his fantastic signings. It is very easy to talk about the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Jota when praising Celtic players but it shouldn’t go unnoticed the impact the former England international has had on Ange’s squad.
Joe Hart was one of the most promising English goalkeepers we had seen in a while when he became Manchester City’s number one back in 2007. Hart went on to have many fantastic years with City, picking up three Premier League Golden Gloves in a row (2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13) and a fourth in 2014/15. He is a two-time Premier League winner as well as collecting one FA Cup and two League Cups. He went on to play 75 games for England and was once hailed as “one of the top three goalkeepers in the world” by Gianluigi Buffon.
Hart hit a rough patch in his career where things weren’t quite going how they once looked they would. A dip in form in Manchester led to loans to both Torino and West Ham United before finally signing for Burnley in 2018. In 2020, after Burnley refused to extend his contract, Hart joined Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer. He made ten appearances for the London side before being told by new manager Nuno Espírito Santos that he wouldn’t feature in the Portuguese manager’s plans.
The keeper then signed a three-year deal at Celtic Park. The signing of Joe Hart definitely turned a few heads. Many people questioned whether the former England shot-stopper could find his form again. However, it seems that Joe Hart was the man Celtic were looking for.
There was worry about his ability with the ball at his feet, especially with the way Ange wants to play (and there has certainly been a few scary moments) however, overall, the addition of Hart to the squad can only be described as a great one. This goes beyond his shot-shopping ability. Hart’s experience of the game shines through and he looks to be a huge influence on his team-mates. Twice he has been seen pulling his own team-mates away from the referee before they get themselves spoken to or even worse, cautioned. The latter being club captain Callum McGregor at Ibrox against Rangers. During that same game at Ibrox, Hart could be seen telling the referee to get the broken glass in the penalty area cleared away or he would be taking the rest of the team off the field.
Joe Hart has definitely become a top leader in the dressing room at Celtic Park and has been praised by many of his contemporaries. It really is great seeing the number one back to his best.
BOBBY GORDON
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