As Joe Hart brings down the final curtain on his career after Celtic’s win over Rangers in the Scottish Cup, the veteran goalkeeper singled out Brendan Rodgers for some praise at Hampden on Saturday.
A 2021 Ange Postecoglou signing, Hart has been a stalwart for the three seasons he’s been at the club after making over 150 appearances for the Hoops.
A treble-winner, the retring goalkeeper has picked up seven domestic honours and after beating Rangers on Saturday, Hart singled out his manager for making him feel ‘truly special’ at Celtic after Ange Postecoglou left.
Hart admires Rodgers for ‘trusting’ him at Celtic
Ange Postecoglou brought in Hart as an immediate replacement for Vasilis Barkas and almost immediately brought steeliness and calm to the Celtic back line.
However, whilst he admits he is grateful to the Australian for bringing him to Celtic, Hart admits that he felt ‘truly special’ under the management of current Hoops boss, Brendan Rodgers.
Hart said [Scottish Football Podcast], “I’m so grateful to both of them. Ange for bringing me up and showing me a new way of playing. Teaching an old dog new tricks and then Brendan coming in and just trusting me.
“That’s ultimately what I love.
“I love that as a goalkeeper, I love that as a person, I love it when people put their trust in me. I do my best to earn it, I really do.
“And that’s a truly special feeling. And luckily enough, when you’re a club like this and you’re being trusted and doing well, you tend to win.”
Under Rodgers, Hart missed just one game. Out of the team for the 2-1 away win at Motherwell, the 37-year-old only missed that game due his sending off against Livingston the week prior to that.
Other than that time, Hart was the first name on the Celtic teamsheet under Rodgers and that only underpins just how much the Parkhead boss valued him.
And now Rodgers has the unenviable task of not only replacing a goalkeeper but replacing a leader as Hart was a well-respected figure amongst his Celtic teammates.
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