Joe Hart has found himself under a bit of pressure at Celtic over the last few weeks.
The Hoops goalkeeper has done a sterling job between the sticks helping deliver success for Celtic over the last two seasons. But as we all know, he is entering the final year of his contract but is also under scrutiny for how he plays with the ball to his feet.
Hart has always struggled with this part of the game. Even under the previous manager, the veteran goalkeeper wobbled at times whenever the ball was played to his feet and, under Brendan Rodgers, this will only intensify.
Rodgers deploys a slow and patient build-up from the back which means Hart will find himself being used much more often than he did over the past two seasons. But former Celtic defender, Charlie Mulgrew, has backed the ‘keeper to cope with that pressure but also caveats that with a transfer caution.
Mulgrew said [Clyde 1 SSB], “Stretching back to Joe Hart‘s career when he was at Man City it was part of the reason why Pep Guardiola moved him on because he wanted the goalkeeper to play with his feet as well.
“And it’s a real important position now and the way the game’s moved on in the last 10-15 years is incredible and the way it’s going to move on in the next five to ten years is madness.
“So obviously Brendan Rodgers wants that. It’s not natural to Joe Hart. He done it well last year. He had a couple of scary moments but got away with it.
“And I think that Rodgers, when he first came to Celtic, he identified that is something he really wants and he brought in Dorus de Vries and they ended up bringing in Craig Gordon who done okay with his feet as well.
“I think that Joe Hart’s a great goalkeeper and has come in and done a great job for Celtic. And there’s no reason why he can’t going forward. But it comes back to Brendan Rodgers getting his own players in and making sure that he gets what he wants because that’s the style he wants to play.”
There is no doubt that Hart struggles with this part of his game. As Mulgrew states, despite Hart being an excellent shot-stopper, if he wants to continue at Celtic then he will need to get to grips with this, and fast.
But Rodgers will also need to look at the goalkeeping department soon as we need a long-term solution to a problem that is coming to us quickly.
At 36 years of age, Hart won’t go on forever and the backup options we have at the club don’t look like they will be the answer either.
In other news, Why Celtic are not firing on all cylinders under Brendan Rodgers; Charlie Mulgrew nails it
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