Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has been in some excellent form of late, really relishing the tail-end of his professional career with the Bhoys.
He’s been so good in recent months that former Celtic striker Chris Sutton dedicated his newspaper column on Saturday morning to the subject of him potentially staying on.
The pundit wants Brendan Rodgers to try and convince him to commit to one more season despite the announcement that he is retiring after the upcoming Scottish Cup final.
Sutton got to question the goalkeeper at Celtic Park today as part of his Sky Sports duties and received an honest response from the Bhoys hero about why now is the right time for him to hang up his gloves.
Hart knew deep down that next year he wouldn’t be quite himself going through another tough schedule of matches.
Joe Hart on his Celtic retirement
The goalkeeper said: “I got a point in my life when I was potentially on the way out and then I got another opportunity. I don’t want to push that luck. I just want to finish strong. I want to finish in this special place as part of this special club. I think it is my time to move aside and let someone else have some fun.
“It is definitely not physical, I feel fine. I just felt that this was my moment. I felt really uncomfortable knowing it and not telling the manager or the lads. I wanted to say it and I wanted everyone to understand why I was doing it.
“I told Stevie Woods after the St Mirren cup game and I went to tell him and I couldn’t. I was crying. He thought there was a family emergency or something. I managed to snivel out what I was doing. Obviously, he was shocked but he was very understanding. I appreciate the understanding of this place. It just felt like the right time.
“I am not at the peak of my powers but I am able to always be ready for the games. Previously, I wanted to be out there arguing it strikers and getting that banter. Getting chipped and getting angry. Now I get chipped and I just kind of say ‘well done’.
“I just know that next season I would be getting to games and I wouldn’t quite be right. I didn’t want to put Brendan under any of that pressure. I love him for the fact that he has appreciated that I told him what I wanted to do and I have been able to do it.”
Joe Hart gets his big moment
Picking a moment to bow out is difficult to do. Not every player retires in glory – even the best ones. Hart has picked his exquisitely. Today’s scenes at Celtic Park were fantastic and will live with the goalkeeper for the rest of his life.
It’s better to leave now than potentially outstay a welcome. If he feels it inside him that it’s time to step down then it is undoubtedly the best decision.
Over more than 150 appearances he’s been a fantastic Celtic player and every fan will have fond memories of his contributions over the last three years. He’s an icon in Glasgow now. Hart has ensured it will always stay that way.