Joe Hart has his say on Celtic fan protest banner at Pittodrie

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The winter transfer window wasn’t a good one for Celtic and it was always the case that fans of the club would make their feelings clear at matches.

A failure to maximise the club’s resource advantage over other teams in the Scottish Premiership has again frustrated many, especially when there are glaring weaknesses in Brendan Rodgers’ squad.

The manager himself has spoken about his belief that the club can be braver in the transfer market, as he seeks quality additions to his squad.

On Saturday, at Pittodrie, some Celtic fans unveiled a banner which stated “Celtic Board – On Your Heads Be it”, making it quite clear they feel that a gamble is being taken with the title race.

Joe Hart responds to Celtic fan protest banner

Goalkeeper Joe Hart was asked about it post-match, with the query suggesting the rancour could be a distraction for the players.

But Hart insisted the supporters are entitled to their protest, stating [Sunday Post, 04/02 print edition: “It’s not a distraction for the players, not at all. We see it.

“There is no getting away from it – it was a decent-sized banner. But that’s for the support and that’s what they need to work out.”

Going on to reference the dropped points against Aberdeen, Hart continued: “Sometimes it’s not good enough but we’re not perfect. We’re aspiring for that and we want to give this superb club victories.

“We train hard every day and we’re given every chance so there is certainly nothing we can complain about as players. We have the opportunity to perform at the top level. It’s up to us to try to do that for 100 minutes on a Saturday and a Wednesday.”

Also paying tribute to the lengths supporters go to, to follow Celtic, Hart was in no mood to get into a debate on how fans are feeling about the direction of the club right now.

Hart isn’t going to start suggesting dropped points are a result of fan feeling. The players and coaching staff must take responsibility for that.

That’s the right stance to take. Fans will back the team, it’s those higher in the hierarchy that are the targets for ire right now.