Former Celtic goalkeeper Dorus De Vries has praised the current No.1 Joe Hart following an impressive display at Ibrox. The 36-year-old kept a clean sheet, and made important saves but also marshalled the young defensive pairing of Liam Scales and Gustaf Lagerbielke making their Glasgow Derby debut.
Speaking to The Daily Record, De Vries was full of praise for Hart, citing a number of factors that he sees as being important to the success enjoyed by the Englishman.
“I don’t think you ever stop learning and, looking at Joe, I always liked him.
“He has so much experience and, importantly, he also has so much passion for the game. You can see it on his face when he goes on to the pitch and when he’s out there.
“Joe has that burning desire to always be the best he can be and that is what he has shown at Celtic. You like to see a keeper with personality and he has it a lot.
“Joe is one of those guys who, even though he is a fantastic keeper at the moment, he looks to get better and better.
“He’s at that level and has done so well in the past even when he had a knockback with all the Manchester City stuff and, at the time, Celtic was a great step for him.”
Celtic’s winning goal at Ibrox actually came from Hart kicking long for Goldson to header the ball for Matt O’Riley to slip Kyogo through. The Celtic goalkeeper has benefitted from the change in approach under Brendan Rodgers, allowing him to kick long when required.
Hart has received criticism from some quarters of the support but since arriving in the summer of 2021, the ex-Man City keeper has been a source of leadership and quality within the squad. Celtic’s No.1 has made 109 appearances and has won five trophies in that time, he will be looking forward to competing in the forthcoming Champions League Group Stage matches.
Not only is he an excellent goalkeeper, Hart is a great guy and that seems to be recognised by people in the game and supporters alike.
