Joe Hart will take his place in the Celtic side taking the field at Tynecastle tomorrow to play Hearts in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final with a place in the semi-final alongside Inverness Caley Thistle who this evening knocked out Kilmarnock in the first quarter final of the weekend.
Hart reckons that tomorrow will be a tough game but as you would expect is confident that Celtic will can get the job done for the second time this week. Yet there’s no denying Celtic have the toughest challenge this weekend but will have benefit of a larger than normal away support there to cheer the team on.
“Yeah, it’s a good game for us to play in. It’s going to be a tough game and yeah, we’re looking forward to it. The squad feels strong and we’re good to go. They’ve got people that they can probably bring in, but we’re very much about focusing on what we can do and what we’ve got available. We know full well it’s going to be a tough game and we want to be in the best position to have a good one,” Joe Hart said.
Looking back to that dramatic 4-3 Celtic win in the Scottish Premiership against Hearts at Tynecastle last October, Joe Hart reckons that belief was the key to Celtic winning that match. “It was a difficult game. There’s been a lot of tough games this season, especially away from home but like many of them, we’ve had enough belief in our system and players to find a way.
“We did that time but every game is different. We put that to bed a long time ago and we’ve moved on since then and focused on every other next game, if you like. Hearts away is the next one so that’s the one we’ll have all our focus on.
I think that’s our goal and our aim in every game. Like I said, we put a lot of emphasis and focus on what we can control and that is – us tactically, us emotionally, and I feel like we’ve got a good relationship with each other that we can kind of stay in the moment and stay in the zone, whatever the game requires.
“Sometimes the game does require some emotion but we’re not robots, but channelled in the right direction and used properly it can help,” The Celtic goalkeeper said. “It’s a good footballing venue, that’s for sure. It’s a good place to play, a lot of passion, a lot of support for the home team.
“Again, we’re very lucky to play at this club and have the travelling support that we get. We feel confident and strong in terms of support everywhere we’ve gone, even to stadiums where COVID was an issue. Even when COVID was an issue, we had people supporting us outside the stadium. As potentially passionate as the home crowd can be, we always feel like the supporters have got our backs,” Hart recalled.
And despite the Scottish Cup being the only trophy Celtic didn’t win last season, after losing in extra-time in last season’s semi-final, The Celtic goalkeeper doesn’t accept that the competition therefore gains additional significance for the Celtic squad.
“No, we don’t prioritise and we certainly don’t take anything for granted. Whenever our guys get in front of you, we’re talking about the next game and cliche as it sounds, it is the most important and that’s the most important one for us. That’s what we all focus is on at the moment. We certainly didn’t win the cup last time because our focus wasn’t on it. We just got beat. You know in football that happens. We’re going to do everything we can to put that right,” Hart stated.
Joe Hart then outlined his thoughts on just how much he is enjoying watching Kyogo playing in this Celtic side. The Japanese striker scored in midweek to take his total to 25 for the season and it will be a major priority for Robbie Neilson and his Hearts side trying to stop him tomorrow. Hart is clearly a big fan of his teammate but wouldn’t be drawn on just how many goals he thinks that the Scottish Premiership’s top goalscorer can score this season.
“I’m loving watching Kyogo play his football at the moment. He’s so important for us as a squad. He’s a top player. He’s a really good guy as well. I’m sure you know he doesn’t give a lot away. He’s quite a shy character, but he really expresses himself on the football field.
“He gives the team a lot of joy seeing us making him happy with the runs that he makes. The team put a lot of effort in and defensively, he puts a lot of effort in. Numbers wise it is not for me to comment, we’ll see. Obviously football is game by game, but in terms of enjoying playing with the guy, I can’t speak highly enough of him,” Hart said.
Hart was also asked about spending some time while at West Ham with a young player who is now his teammate at Celtic. Sead Hakšabanović was just beginning his career then and Hart was an established international yet he saw enough to be impressed by the rookie and unsurprised that he’s gone on to earn himself a move to Celtic.
“I loved him as a player (at West Ham). Respectfully, I didn’t know who he was in terms of his background, but I loved him straight away as a person. He’s a really hard working guy, really humble guy with a great edge to him and he starred often daily in training, especially under Slaven Bilic.
“We all felt like he had a huge future at West Ham. David Moyes then came in and had different feelings towards him and a few of us but that’s football. That’s how it works. He’s gone out, he’s worked hard and I was really, really happy to hear and see that he was going to be linked with this club to see his development.
“I’m not surprised that he’s at the level he’s at. Like I say, he’s first and foremost a really hard working player and there’s an awful lot of talent. There’s a lot more to come,” Joe Hart reckons.
On whether he expects to be busier than usual tomorrow as Hearts look to claim the scalp of the Champions and League leaders by knocking Celtic out of the cup, which would delight their supporters, Hart isn’t so sure that he’s ever had a quiet game in the Celti goals and he explains why he thinks that.
“I don’t know. It’s a tough one to answer. I get why people probably presume that I’m not necessarily involved in our more comfortable wins, but I feel like the way that we work as a team that I’m always kind of on the edge of the game, in some ways, be it with positioning or with feet, or with saves.
Often I think it’s a fair point that I don’t have to make many saves when I play for this team and that’s credit to everything that everyone in front of me is doing. Obviously we want to keep that up. I think the less busy I am in terms of saves, the more successful we’re going to be. I’m obviously going to be ready if required,” Hart said.
THE BOULD BHOYS! ‘GLORY TO THEIR NAME’ IS OUT ON FRIDAY 24TH MARCH 2023…
Matthew Marr’s debut Celtic book – ‘The BOULD BHOYS – Glory to their name’ is published on Friday 24 March. Thanks to everyone who has ordered since we announced the book’s release date on Monday night via an interview with the author. Please note that all pre-ordered books will be personally signed by Matthew Marr and you can order below if you’d like a signed copy posted out to you 24 March.
READ THIS...‘The Bould Bhoys – Glory to their name’ by Matthew Marr
