Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart was one of the few players to escape with pass marks in the Bhoys’ 1-1 draw at home to Kilmarnock yesterday.
The 36-year-old earned a match rating of 7.9/10 for his exploits, making five saves and completing 30 of his 35 attempted passes on what turned out to be a dreary day at Parkhead [Sofascore].
At present, the four-time Golden Glove winner has an uncertain future in Glasgow, given that his contract expires at the end of the campaign.
Nevertheless, Hart seems determined to give everything to claim silverware in what could be his final season at Celtic, leading by example since the turn of the year.
His commitment also cannot be questioned. Back in January, Brendan Rodgers revealed that the experienced number one has been living north of the border without his family during his stay at the club.
Rodgers shed some light on his future last month, stating: “We haven’t spoken about it (what happens next). At that age, I think he’s just happy to be playing. Joe’s family is down south so he’s shown incredible commitment to be up here.”
Granted, there are probably better goalkeepers available in the world of football than Hart and sentiment shouldn’t be reserved when due diligence takes place surrounding his potential successor.
However, his attitude is second to none, and he will go down as a great servant when he passes through the Parkhead doors for the final time.
Joe Hart makes frank admission as Celtic draw with Kilmarnock
In the aftermath of the Bhoys’ disappointing stalemate with Kilmarnock, Hart didn’t mince his words when analysing his side’s performance.
Giving some honest answers, the Shrewsbury-born man admitted Celtic didn’t deserve three points and indicated some ‘difficult questions’ would be asked among the group in days to follow.
Hart stated [Celtic FC YouTube]: “We nearly managed to walk away with three points in a game where we didn’t play particularly well, but I think conceding the late goal only highlights it wasn’t a great performance and we probably didn’t deserve the win.”
He then added: “We were hoping to get over the line rather than dictating the game; the tempo, it wasn’t there in the last 20 minutes, which is the business end of the match where we expect to dominate, but we didn’t today, and Kilmarnock stayed in it and got the result.”
When asked about how the Celtic squad will look to recover from the result, Hart finished by saying: “You talk about it, you highlight it, you ask people questions, some difficult questions and see what answers people are going to give, who’s willing to be there in the big moments, who wants it?
“That’s for all of us to look at ourselves in the mirror. There’s a long way to go; there’s plenty we can still achieve this season, and with hard work and dedication and every single one of us pulling in the same direction, we still believe we can do it.”
Joe Hart’s comments surrounding Celtic stand up to scrutiny
Anyone who took in the game yesterday could’ve identified that Celtic were looking to hang in against Kilmarnock rather than having an urgency to put the game to bed, which is concerning in itself.
Not for the first time this season, the Bhoys went into their shell and were punished by a soft goal late on after failing to do the basics when it mattered.
This isn’t a sign of a team that is equipped to go all the way in the title race, though we will need to wait and see if Rodgers can get a better tune out of the players over the coming weeks.
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