Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has been discussing tomorrow’s lunchtime meeting with Hibs at Easter Road, hoping Celtic can bounce back from Thursdays chastening defeat against Bodø/Glimt in Norway. Celtic produced a fantastic performance the last time the teams met in Edinburgh back in October, where first half goals from Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kyogo set them on their way to a impressive 3-1 victory.
Hart is hoping for more of the same tomorrow, expressing his belief that if Celtic can reproduce that first half performance they are capable of completely blowing teams away, although admits getting the three points in the bag is all that really matters. The former England international explained, as reported by Glasgow Times.
“I’ve felt that when we are really on it and we play the football we did in that first half [at Easter Road], we can really blow teams away. But likewise in the second half, when we weren’t perfect, it’s a competitive league and there’s a lot of pride at a good club and a big club with a fan base that got behind them, it was tough. But we got the job done and that’s all we want to do on Sunday.
Hart went on to mention that Hibs will provide a different challenge tomorrow under new manager Shaun Maloney. The former Celtic winger had just taken over the last time the two sides met, but the players will now be more than acclimatised to how the former Belgium assistant manager wants them to play.
He also spoke about his team’s belief in their own manager Ange Postecoglou, and thinks that the Hoops are ready to put Thursday evenings disappointment behind them.
He said: “I think they might have a slightly different approach. He (Maloney) didn’t have long in charge when we played them in the middle of January just after we came back.
“I’d imagine he’ll have implemented his ways. We’ve been focused on Bodo. We are now going to turn our focus to putting that one to bed and then focusing on Hibs. I’ll have a better feel for it when it when we begin to focus on it. Like I said, we are that focused on how we’re doing things. We’ve got a lot of belief in what’s going on in front of us, a lot of belief in the manager.
“We take each game exactly the same and we focus on each game exactly the same and we intend to win every game that we go into. Thursday proved that with human nature you can’t do that. But that’s not through a lack of trying.”
Many Celtic fans have tried to look on the bright side of Thursdays exit from Europe, with our title rivals from across the city progressing in the Europa League, some think having extra time off during midweek could benefit us in the league run in.
Hart though doesn’t agree, saying the squad will continue to train as if they are due to play twice a week. He also disagrees that playing before theRangers on the weekends after their European fixtures will effect either teams mentality.
He added: “I think you know my answer to that,” he said. “We’ll just focus on exactly what we want to do. We’ve been like that when we’ve been behind and we’ll be exactly the same like now we are in front. We’re just focusing on what we can take care of, what our squad can take care of. It’s Hibs that are in front of us.
“Who knows [if a rest will benefit us]? That’s not something that we think about. We’re set up to play twice a week in the squad. Ultimately, right now, we’re not going to get that but we were set up for it. Whether that was the case or not, we’re ready.”
Although Hart won’t admit it, there is obviously benefits to having some midweeks free to train rather than prepare for matches. It will also provide extra opportunities to pile more pressure on the Ibrox club by playing a day earlier. However this will only be positive if we continue to win our matches. Performances like Thursday night will be unacceptable as we aim to claim the league title back.
As Celtic fans most of us are still hurting after the second unacceptable European performance on the bounce. Our inability to progress in Europe after Christmas is something that has to be remedied, no matter what happens throughout the rest of this season should not cover up for the fact we continue to underachieve on the continent. Getting back to showing the form that took us top of the league post winter break is a now must.
Conall McGinty
