Alistair Johnston has paid tribute to Joe Hart after the Celtic goalkeeper entered the Celtic history books. The Scottish Cup Treble win on Saturday ensured that Hart joins Kenny Dalglish as only the second-ever Celtic player to have won every domestic honour on both sides of the border.
Johnston said [The Herald], “That’s some feat. And no better guy to have done it. Just a top professional.
“I don’t know how old he is but he acts like he’s 24! He’s a constant livewire who could talk to anyone. Sometimes when you come into a changing room where there’s a guy with that resume and presence then often they can put themselves on a bit of a pedestal.
“But he’s not that guy at all. He comes down to everyone’s level. He doesn’t need to do that but he does and everyone appreciates that. He makes everyone feel right at home.
“He’s the most deserving guy to have done that and I’m happy for him. It just goes to show what a career he’s had with 75 caps for England. He’s one of those players who’s often overlooked by a lot of the English media and fans. I’m really happy for Joe, he deserves it.”
Joe Hart has been an outstanding Celtic player
Joe Hart brought stability to the Celtic defence at a time when the Celtic fans were still raw about the Vasilis Barkas affair. The Greek goalkeeper joined the club to help push for ten in a row but failed to settle after a run of poor performances cast doubt over the former AEK Athens man.
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Hart came in and made an instant impact with some impressive performances, especially in Europe. In fact, so important was the Englishman that he missed just two games in his maiden season at Celtic. This season he continued to show his importance to the team by competing in all but three of our fixtures.
His professionalism behind the scenes is clearly a huge driver in creating a brilliant dressing room atmosphere and how he speaks about the club so passionately has endeared him to the Celtic fans.
At 36 years old, Hart still has a year left on his contract. He and Celtic will have a decision to make on whether or not he will be able to continue as our number bone by the time that contract comes to an end.
But I don’t think many fans would argue that when the time comes, Celtic should look to keep him on in some capacity as he is clearly a very positive influence in the Celtic dressing room.
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