Even though Celtic recorded three points against Ross County on Saturday, everything that came after it still raised more questions than answers.
The performances under Brendan Rodgers have been very indifferent throughout the season, so the sticky and dogged display over the weekend wasn’t a one-off.
You would have thought that Alistair Johnston’s fortunate goal after the first minute was going to open the floodgates for Celtic.
Luis Palma, who went on to miss his spot-kick, including the re-taken one, had the chance to do that, but it just didn’t click.
That’s why there were some boos at the full-time whistle from the home crowd and Joe Hart made it clear that, as players, ‘we just keep our focus’, as quoted by The Glasgow Times.
The Celtic number one did admit that he can feel the emotions from the pitch, but he is also equally ‘lucky’ that he doesn’t understand that frustration because he hasn’t been a fan.
Given that Joe Hart started his career as a teenager and built himself up, including winning numerous Premier League titles with Manchester City, it hasn’t allowed him to experience what it’s like from the stands.
That’s why the 36-year-old was upbeat when asked about some of the fans booing following the win over Ross County.
Celtic performance against Ross County
“I’ve been lucky not to know how it feels to be a fan,” said Hart.
“Obviously, I can feel it on the park and have been part of many emotional situations. But as players we just keep our focus, and keep playing.
“One of the beautiful things about being in the team for the last three years is you wouldn’t actually know the scoreline because all we do is try to score goals. It’s not as easy as that and that was proven again. We’re obviously not going to hit the rhythm we were necessarily in previously.
“But we are a professional outfit, not a bunch of slobs who took a few days off and suddenly we’re playing football again. Not at all. We take our jobs seriously and no fitness lost. We just want to play together and see where we go.”
The January transfer window
The expectations were pretty high at the start of the window, mainly because Rodgers, for weeks, was banging on about ‘quality’ being needed.
Instead, he was only backed with the arrival of winger Nicolas Kuhn, which should once again, raise questions.
It’s not a surprise that the mood amongst the fans is a little flat.
But what needs to be remembered is that what matters most is what happens out on the pitch, plus destiny is in the team’s hands to win the title again.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
