Joe Hart has been an course and distance winner in many a title race in his long and distinguished career yet he’s probably not had the level of expectation that is always there at Celtic, where the players know that they are expected to win just about every game that they play, particularly in domestic football.
The action gets underway for real this Sunday after what has been the best pre-season – aided by the lack of Champions League qualifiers in July and August – for many a year.
Celtic have improved the squad, got just about everyone match fit and played some lovely football, scoring plenty of goals and going undefeated across a series of competitive pre-season friendlies at home and abroad. And many fringe players, who aren’t going to be in the plans for the new season under Ange Postecoglou have been moved on and with perhaps a few more to follow.
Hart, who was outstanding against Norwich at the weekend, has been talking about the expectations for the new season ahead of the flag day opener on Sunday at Celtic Park against Aberdeen and also talked about his new advanced role in the team, where he’s often found playing as a keeper/sweeper role under the guidance and instruction of Ange Postecoglou. Even for the veteran goalie, every day is a school day under the Australian manager.
“We’ve put ourselves in the best position we can. That has been the message. We can’t build on what we did last year as last year has gone. We set a level and we want to be at that level when we start on Sunday,” Hart told the mainstream media as reported by Daily Record.
“It’s tough here. You need to win and you need to keep winning. But we are going to take care of ourselves and put ourselves in the best position to, hopefully, be on our mettle. If we are, we are going to win games,” Hart added.
“We’ve obviously got quality and we’ve got winners, but the better we get as a team, the more likely we are going to get the results we want.
“I don’t feel we have a target on our backs. The message from the manager, in my opinion, has been that we need to be the best that we can be. Everyone else is free to do what they need to do, everyone else is going to run their own race. We work hard every single day with the same intention, to get better and improve as a team.”
Hart has been mightily impressed by Ange Postecoglou and has been happy to ignore the rule that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks as he’s adapted his own game to suit the pretty tactical approach that this Celtic team are developing under the manager.
“We set a level and we want to be at that level when we start on Sunday. Is there more to come? That option is definitely there, but it is down to us. To me, us as individuals, us as a team,” Hart said.
“The manager constantly references it. Why not make the game you are about to play in your best game you have ever played in? I love that message and I live by that message. So there’s definitely that opportunity, but how it will play out, we will see.
“We are going to take care of ourselves and put ourselves in the best position to be on our mettle. And if we are, we are going to win games.”
“I couldn’t just come in and play as high as that as I’d never done it before, so I had to learn and I’m still learning. That’s why I absolutely love being here and playing under the manager. It’s becoming less uncomfortable to be that high.
“Before, to be that high, I always thought: Danger, danger. But now I understand the reasons why I am there. I am not there for any reason other than to help the team to progress and move forward. I understand the reasons better, so I feel more comfortable.”
