What Brendan Rodgers did that made Celtic ‘truly special’ for Joe Hart

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Joe Hart’s affinity with Celtic is something that the former Hoops hero will carry with him for the rest of his life.

Retiring from football as a Celtic legend, Hart won seven trophies over three seasons which included the record-breaking eighth domestic treble.

With over 150 appearances for Celtic, Hart finished his career at the club under Brendan Rodgers and here he describes how the Parkhead gaffer made his time at the club ‘truly special’.

Rodgers was ‘a joy to work with’ at Celtic

The former England international was brought to the club by Ange Postecoglou in 2021. But it seems that Hart has enjoyed a long-term connection with Rodgers which stretches back to his days in the Premier League.

Hart said [Celtic FC], “He’s been a joy to work with.

“I’ve known him professionally through the years, playing against his teams, and he’s always been very personable.

‘I think as a coach and as a manager he’s been exceptional. He really understood me, and I’ve enjoyed playing under him.

“I’m just really proud to be part of a fantastic team that’s been pushed to the limit and we’ve come out on top, which is a great feeling.

“Football’s a special place and you find a lot of special people, and I feel really privileged to be a part of it.

“To feel welcomed, to feel loved and for my family to feel embraced – we’ve just felt everything that this club has to offer and it’s truly special.

“You’ve got to work hard to get that because it’s not a stupid place, it doesn’t just give things out easily, but it recognises people who are willing to put themselves on the line, wear this badge with pride and honour, and try their best to represent it.”

It has to be mentioned that Hart undoubtedly had his best season at Celtic under Rodgers. Whether that had to do with his impending retirement and wanting to go out on a high, doesn’t really matter.

You could see from the end-of-season pictures and footage that Hart genuinely loved working with the Celtic gaffer and that the feeling was mutual.

Now enjoying his time as a pundit, more recently at the Euros, the Celtic fans are likely to see more of their former hero as he looks to carve out a career for himself away from football.