Joe Hart says he loves Celtic warrior Cameron Carter-Vickers.
And the Parkhead keeper admits he’s delighted the defender now has a chance to be pain free after battling through the mill once again for his team. Carter-Vickers produced another colossal performance in the heart of the backline to help earn the clean sheet which secured his side’s berth in the Scottish Cup Final.
The American star again fought against a knee injury to take his place at Hampden and Hart was left in awe at the bravery as he hurled into a succession of blocks and tackles. Carter-Vickers’ season is now over as he heads for an operation and the keeper said: “What an exceptional player. Whatever happens in the future happens, but what a top player. What a top professional. I love him. He deserves to be pain free. You do want him back as quickly as possible, but he’s a not just a great centre-half, he’s a person who’s been gritting his teeth and sticking his boots on for us.
“As a team and club, we appreciate that. We’ve known for a while and had to keep this under wraps. Cam has been exceptional for us this season and whenever he’s ready, he’s ready. But Yuki (Kobayashi) and (Stephen) Welshy will be ready to fill his shoes.”
Hart also played a big role in the rearguard with saves as Ange Postecoglou’s men stayed on course for a Treble. Celtic had to dig deep in stages and the No.1 said: “It was a tough game.
"I thought we played better in the first half than the second, but we showed that we’ve got a couple of sides to us character wise. And we did what we needed to do.
“The boys in front of me put in some performance. They’ve been good at that. We obviously wanted it to be a little simpler and to keep playing our football, but it’s not always as easy as that.
“We were up against opposition who made it tough, but we managed to get the job done. We work hard every day. The manager goes on about it and he’s right. We don’t take our foot off the gas at any moment.
“We’re not perfect, even though we are striving for it. There are going to be moments in games and there have been in all games this season, even when we’ve had a breathtaking first half, where we’ve had to show a side to our football.
“We did that again. It’s something that you can’t take for granted. We’re not a team that’s always going to have the answers, but we are always going to go down swinging.
“We are always going to put it on the line. The fact we’ve got the attitude to try and do that has stood us in good stead.
“We don’t take any of this for granted. We are going to keep working hard. On Tuesday we’ll be looking to get our heads down and work hard to build for the rest of the season.”
Celtic now have a special campaign in the palm of their hands, with five games to obtain the three points needed to clinch the title.
Facing Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday is the first opportunity and Hart said: “You can’t have a week off when you are at Celtic. We just stay in the present.
“We’ve an amazing head coach, great back-up staff and side and a support which won’t let us relax. We don’t want to let up. We are living in this moment and trying to get the most out of every opportunity that’s in front of us.”
Hart is enjoying every second of the current run and added: “It’s game by game. I can only speak for myself, but there aren’t that many I’m going to be playing in.
“I’m not in the middle of my career. I’m not at the start. I’m coming towards the end. I want more. I want everything. I love the fact that I’m still involved.”
Treble talk is still off limits as he added: “I’d love to have that conversation with you. But right now there are way too many important games ahead of us. We’ll see. I hope we can have this conversation after the cup final.
“It’s amazing. What an atmosphere there was out there. It was the same last year. A 50/50 split, two top fan bases rooting for their team. It’s so tight. There is so much tension in these games.
“One mistake or a slip can swing how it turns out. It’s amazing to play in and I’ve been lucky to play in a lot of big atmospheres and I do not take that for granted. I love playing under that pressure.”
As well as sealing the June 3 date with Inverness, victory also avenged last season’s semi-final defeat to Rangers. But Hart said: “Last year was last year. We put it all on the line in that game and they beat us fair and square. It’s tough to lose games, but it happens.
“We’re doing our best, but we got beat fair and square last season. We’ve had a few opportunities to put that right this season.
“We’ve got Hearts coming up then we are away (to Rangers) again. That is another tough game and they keep coming. It’s great to be involved.”
