Joe Hart reckons it is impossible for Celtic to be perfect. But the keeper is clear that, when the Parkhead team do have days when they don’t hit their highest levels, it will never be down to lack of focus or complacency.
Ange Postecoglou’s squad are motoring along at a sensational rate this term on the domestic front with 22 wins from 24 games. The champions are riding high with a nine-point lead in the Premiership and have also booked their spot in the Final of the Viaplay Cup.
Hart admits that's down to a belief in the workings of the manager and the style and mentality which has filtered throughout the group. The Celtic No.1 says there will always be room for improvement, but ahead of tomorrow’s top-flight encounter against St Mirren, he explained: “We believe that, no matter what moment in the game, no matter what opposition, whether that be St Mirren or away in the Bernabeu, we have proven that we are going to play our way.
“We believe in it. It can’t be perfect. That’s impossible. But we’re doing our best to play at the highest level we can at all times. We believe that’s going to be enough.”
The game against Saints sees Celtic face the only Scottish side to have beaten them this season. Stephen Robinson’s side got the better of the champions last September and Hart reiterated his point on the squad’s fixated attitude when asked about that day in Paisley.
He said: “Honestly, we are not a complacent group. This football team is not complacent. We didn’t lose that game because we were complacent.
“We lost because St Mirren deserved to beat us on the day. The approach to that game will be no different to this one. We are going to go and try to win it and play the best football we can.”
Hart and his team now have the ideal opportunity to return the compliment on Saints in Glasgow’s East End and have a formidable record at their backs. Since the appointment of Postecoglou, they have not lost a single domestic match on their own patch.
This term in the Premiership, they are 100 per cent, yet Hart has no doubts that Robinson’s men could replicate their stunning success if Celtic aren’t bang at it. Asked if St Mirren could do it again, Hart said: “There’s no doubt they can do it again. No doubt. St Mirren deserved to do it on the day.
“There were just moments in that game where they got the better of us. It was really quite that simple. I don’t think we were particularly terrible.
“St Mirren executed their plan really well and we were a little bit off it. I don’t think we are going to go too deep into it.
“But a lot has happened since then. We take care of every game as it comes. The strong encouragement here is not to live in the past.
“If we’re going to concentrate on the past, there is a lot more good than bad. But we don’t rest on our laurels. Every single one of our squad is ready to go. We’re looking forward to Wednesday.”
Hart is amongst the Parkhead stars going into the contest in good form. The former England international was called into action to make key saves during his team’s Viaplay semi-final win over Kilmarnock.
Despite running out 2-0 winners at Hampden, Celtic gave up fleeting opportunities to the Ayrshire outfit and Hart needed to be sharp and ready. It’s a situation which the Parkhead ace was happy to deal with as he said: “The boys don’t ask me to do that much, but I like to be there as best I can.
“It was tight. Killie defended in numbers and attacked well but we held our nerve. The boys made some important interceptions, stayed brave when we needed to in terms of staying on the ball and not just whacking it.
“As soon as you whack that ball, you know they’re going to gobble it up and they’re going to come again. We had a gameplan to keep the ball and be brave on it, even in tough conditions. I was really happy with that.
“I thought Killie were good. They made it difficult for us. Tough conditions, tough pitch. They’re not excuses. They’re facts.
"They played a good game. We stuck to the plan and scored important goals at important times and we’re in the Final.”
Hart has Benjamin Siegrist and Scott Bain waiting in the wings if he doesn’t deliver and there is strength in all squad areas at Celtic. Hart added: “There are certainly going to be no complaints from us as a team. That’s what we build towards, being able to field 11/16 boys every single game who are going to represent the shirt and go out and do a good job.”
That starts with defeating Saints and Hart has a very simple mantra for the encounter and the enormity of the evening. He said: “That [semi-final] was the biggest game of our season in the moments building into it, but now Wednesday becomes the biggest game of our season.
"That’s how we work here. That’s how I’ve always worked and I love the fact that that’s what’s asked of us at this football club. No one game is more important than any other.”
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