'It was absolutely going off' - Joe Hart reflects on Celtic's full house

Joe Hart knows what it is like to be in the thick of huge games in Europe.

Celtic's Joe Hart cautions that, however enjoyable engaged crowds make European games, players must not be caught up in the emotion. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

The Celtic keeper saved a penalty for Manchester City against PSG in a Champions League quarter-final six years ago, after all. Yet, the tumult created by the 50,000-plus crowd for his new club’s modest contest with Jablonec last week has him feverish over what could ensue should AZ Alkmaar be overcome in the Europa League play-off for Ange Postecoglou’s men.

That task, which brings the Dutch team to Glasgow for the first leg this Wednesday, is a daunting one. They are considered one of the coming forces in the Netherlands following their third-place finish in the Eredivisie. That followed them being level on points with leaders Ajax when the pandemic forced the league to be abandoned with nine games remaining the previous season. In their Europa League group stage campaign last year, they only missed out on qualification by a point in a section containing Napoli and Real Sociedad, with the young AZ side taking points off both.

The prizes Hart considers on offer in an continental environment he calls “awesome” and which he “loves playing in” leads the 34-year-old England international to be convinced, as a club, Celtic will throw everything at the play-off on and off the pitch.

“What a great tournament the Europa League is,” he said. “There are some huge teams in it. Nights like Thursday night are amazing. We were playing in a qualifier and it was absolutely going off. God knows what will happen if we make it to the group stages and beyond. European football is what this club wants and what this club needs. It is up to us to get us in it.

“Alkmaar is going to be a step up, of course. I’m not going to claim that I know everything about them, but I am certainly going to know a lot more about them when it comes to Wednesday next week. But we have a big game on Sunday [in the Premier Sports Cup tie at home to Hearts] to prepare for. I have felt it from the moment I have walked through the door – the next game is the most important game, simple as that. Alkmaar will take care of itself, at the moment we are focusing on Hearts.”

The focus at Celtic seems to have become all about the fizz the return of large-scale crowds is injecting into their team. But while Hart celebrates this return to normality, and recognises its importance to the club’s fanbase, as an experienced head he is also aware of the trap that can be created on a frenzied European evening into which the Postecoglou’s team must not fall.

“Our job is not to play on emotion, our job is to be focused,” he said. “But on Thursday we saw what it meant to the fans. We got the win and people were happy. I think we need to keep it as simple as that for now. We are going to grow as a team and we are going to look to entertain, but ultimately we are going to make people’s weeks a whole lot better after a difficult year or so if we win games.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.