Joe Hart earned his crust as Celtic’s goalkeeper yesterday despite his side failing to see off Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.
The former England international came up with one or two big moments in the lunchtime kick-off at Pittodrie, not least his point-blank stop to deny Graeme Shinnie with the score level at 1-1.
Factoring in his experience, the 36-year-old will know all too well the peaks and troughs a title race can present, given that he has won four league trophies across spells in England and Scotland [Transfermarkt].
Despite keeping 11 clean sheets in 23 Scottish Premiership appearances this term, Hart has an uncertain future at Parkhead as his contract is set to expire in the summer.
In the midst of the Hoops’ battle for two domestic trophies, the ex-Manchester City stopper has revealed he isn’t paying any attention to events unconnected with the immediate horizon at Parkhead.
He stated: “I don’t think it’s too important at the moment if I’m honest (contract situation). We have far more important things to focus on.”
Joe Hart thanks Celtic support after stalemate in Aberdeen
In truth, Celtic couldn’t maintain their first-half dominance, turning in a poor performance across the second 45 minutes as Aberdeen fought their way into proceedings.
Nicolas Kuhn’s deflected strike managed to secure a point for the Hoops; however, Brendan Rodgers’ men have had their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership slashed to just three points.
Hart maintains that Celtic are fully focused on their quest to win the league title and has thanked the support for their unwavering backing, as he said [Daily Record]: “As players we stay focused and the management team and staff have a job to do. And we’re fully focused on that.
“Ideally we win that game 4-0 and everybody’s smiling and everybody’s happy. But it doesn’t work like that.
“Aberdeen had a lot to prove today and a lot to work on after losing their manager recently. It was always going to be a tough game. But the support is there for us.
“They travel a long way, as they do in Europe and around the world. We feel that and appreciate it and put our heart and soul out onto the pitch.”
Celtic have now entered make-or-break territory
As always, the Celtic support will travel through to Edinburgh in their numbers on Wednesday to give their side full support against Hibernian at Easter Road.
For two successive weeks, the Hoops haven’t been anywhere near their free-flowing best and another patchy performance simply won’t be tolerated.
Rodgers has never won in Leith across his two spells in charge at Parkhead, which should act as fuel for the Irishman and his side as they look to get back on the canvas [Football Scotland].
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