Joe Hart has revealed the superb gesture made by the Celtic players at Lennoxtown this week as they refused the opportunity for a day off.
Celtic have had a hectic 2022 calendar so far this year, with as many as 12 games having already been played. This has involved constant midweek clashes with not a lot of time for recovery for the players.
Therefore, you would’ve expected them to use the opportunity of a free training week to take some time away from the game and rest up properly. Apparently not. Instead, the Hoops stars have been coming into training every day to continue their work ahead of tonight’s game against Dundee United at Tannadice.
And as we prepare for what will be an intense title run-in, it’s clear the squad is looking to leave no stone unturned in their quest for success. As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Hart said: “It was business as usual. We had an opportunity to have the odd day off but the manager made it clear that it was a good opportunity for us to work as a group.
“That’s something that we haven’t had all year. There’s no time to rest. We’ve got big games coming up. It wasn’t even a thought process. We’ve got work to do. It has been hectic but it just becomes part of your life. When you are used to something it’s not something which really presses on you.
“In terms of that, I think we are quite lucky because we are all of the same mentality of two games a week. So when that does change it’s a little bit of a shock to the system probably more this way around than the other way around.”
Celtic squad showing their determination for the cause at Lennoxtown
The players will likely have had a day off after the Livingston victory last Sunday for some proper recovery. But it sounds as though it’s been constant training sessions since then in a bid to ensure we’re fully ready for tonight.
In fairness, the squad will have had plenty of time to rest at home. It’s not as if they’re at Lennoxtown all day. So it’s great to see them ramp up their training intensity and refuse the idea of more time off.
There seems to be a feeling amongst this Celtic group that they’ll be able to rest at the end of the season. That there’s absolutely no reason for them to be resting during such a key stage of the season.
It’ll be exciting to see what plans they were putting into action when we step out at Tannadice tonight. There are really no excuses for not getting a decent result here. Our squad is in good shape with not many injuries plaguing us anymore. Combined with that, we’ve had plenty of time to prepare for the contest.
The Celtic supporters have every right to expect a top performance. That is, after all, the most important thing. There’s no point in coming into training every day if it means you don’t produce come matchday.
But Celtic, of course, haven’t been beaten since September. There’s an aura of real confidence brimming through Parkhead these days. Hopefully, it goes and leads us to a big win tonight.
In other news, Celtic boss expertly shutting down all title distractions as media try to whip up transfer talk
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