Celtic’s 3-1 over St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership was huge for the club on so many levels.
In terms of the league, it kept Rangers at arm’s length by increasing the lead to eleven points. Albeit for a couple of hours.
In terms of bouncing back from the disappointing draw with Motherwell, the win takes the pressure off from dropping those silly points at Celtic Park.
However, in terms of yesterday, the win was a good result considering Celtic struggled for more than half the match and James Forrest’s goal meant that the three points were secured after a blistering 26-minute three-goal spell.
But it was what the Celtic players did right after the goal that caught former Hoops striker Cillian Sheridan’s eye.
On punditry duty for the BBC, Sheridan shared how the Celtic players all flocked to Joe Hart once Forrest’s shot hit the back of the net.
Sheridan said [BBC Sportsound], “Before James Forrest got the goal, Joe Hart makes a massive save at 2-1 and that, obviously, would have been game-changing.
“But even when James Forrest went off celebrating, half the Celtic team were back celebrating with Joe Hart.
MORE CELTIC STORIES
“It really was a massive save.”
Hart was criticised on TBR Celtic for his part in the St Johnstone goal as the ‘keeper was caught out in no man’s land once again just like he was against Motherwell.
It is little wonder that Celtic are rumoured to be in the hunt for a new goalkeeper because if these mistakes continue, they could end up costly for the Hoops in the long run.
Brendan Rodgers addresses Joe Hart’s Celtic future
Despite a second error in so many weeks, Brendan Rodgers has backed Joe Hart after he was asked if he would be looking to sign a new goalkeeper in the January window.
Rodgers said [Daily Record], “It’s not one for now. I want to improve the squad over my time here, and particularly over these next couple of windows.”
A new number one would certainly do that but my guess is that without European football to contend with, Rodgers believes Hart has enough about him to take care of the domestic league.
So do I, but Hart is like any other Celtic player. Silly mistakes must stop or Hart could find himself sitting it out sooner than he would like.
In other news, ‘Some suggestion’… BBC presenter claims VAR may have missed a decision that could have cost Celtic yesterday