‘He is a really fine goalkeeper’ – O’Neill defends Hart from Celtic criticism
Celtic hero Martin O’Neill has defended Joe Hart, insisting “he is a really fine goalkeeper”.
The Englishman has been criticised for some of his performances so far this season.
But O’Neill feels that the former Manchester City man is more than capable of still performing for the Hoops.
Speaking on PLZ Soccer, he said: “Joe Hart has come in for a little bit of criticism earlier on. But I still think he is a really fine goalkeeper.”
Meanwhile, Celtic hero Chris Sutton reckons Brendan Rodgers is “going through the motions” during his second spell in charge of the club.
The Hoops have lost their last two leagues games, the first time this has happened for over 10 years, and their gap has been cut at the top of the Scottish Premiership to just two points.
And Sutton did not hold back when assessing the Parkhead side’s season so far.
He told the It’s All Kicking Off podcast: “At the moment this Celtic team are disjointed and going through the motions. And there’s a fair argument to suggest Brendan Rodgers has been going through the motions this season.
“I also think the words which he used after the Hearts game in his interview about players lacking passion and desire – is that now his responsibility as manager to put out a motivated team?
“I think it is and he has to take a far greater share of the blame and far greater responsibility than he has done.
“There’s a lot of mud flying around at the board and a certain section of the support haven’t been allowed into the stadium.
“People can use those as excuses but the fact of the matter is that the team hasn’t performed on the pitch this season as well as they should have done.
“He’s taken over a different situation because Ange Postecoglou’s team were fast and furious and this season under Brendan Rodgers it has been flat.
“Celtic weren’t prepared for the Champions League and should have been. Rangers have won the first trophy of the season.
“Brendan can live on his past record at Celtic but only for so long. There’s a bulk of the support who haven’t been fooled by the nature of the performances this season but there’s a chance they can put things right.”
And while Sutton has sympathy for the Hoops boss in Europe, he feels the 50-year-old should be getting much more out his squad domestically.
“But the excuses about not having enough quality players – there’s only a couple players different from Ange Postecolgou’s team,” he added.
“He’s brought in eight new signings and only one played against Hearts, Luis Palma, so Brendan can’t use that as an excuse. He should be getting more out of this team at this moment in time. That is the bottom line
