John Hartson has sent a message to Joe Hart after the Celtic goalkeeper’s Hampden heroics sent the Parkhead club into the Scottish Cup final yesterday.
Hart is set to retire at the end of the season and has, without a doubt, been one of Celtic’s best players under Brendan Rodgers.
Yesterday was Hart’s 147th appearance for Celtic since he joined the club from Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou.
In that time he has made 61 clean sheets and picked up five trophies. [Transfermarkt] And whilst Hart does have his critics and has made more than his fair share of mistakes, no one can deny that he has been a pivotal cog in Celtic’s recent success.
And after his performance yesterday, John Hartson sent a message on social media to the 37-year-old veteran.
Hart silences critics
Hartson still remains an avid Celtic fan despite leaving the club almost 20 years ago. And as Hart saved Aberdeen’s final penalty, the former Celtic hero sent this message to the current one:
In a season where Celtic’s form has been a bit of a rollercoaster, Hart has pulled off some extremely important saves to help keep us in the title race.
And at Hampden yesterday, his save from Aberdeen midfielder, Killian Phillips was probably his most important of the season.
With Celtic conceding twice late in the second half and then in the final minutes of extra time, it would have been easy to have let their heads drop.
But not Hart. Even when he missed his own penalty, the Hoops ‘keeper was calm and assured and even let out a cheeky wink to the rest of his teammates before he made the match winning spot kick save.
It’s easy to see why Hart is loved so much by the Celtic fans because his passion for the club has really shone through in his time here.
One thing is for sure. Brendan Rodgers will have a difficult job filling his gloves as the end of the season because Hart is not just a big player on the big, he is such an important character off it too.