Celtic's Joe Hart opens up on style of football, Livingston result and what margin for error they have now

LIVINGSTON, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Celtic's Joe Hart at full time during a cinch Premiership match between Livingston and Celtic at the Tony Macaroni Arena on September 19, 2021, in Livingston, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)LIVINGSTON, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Celtic's Joe Hart at full time during a cinch Premiership match between Livingston and Celtic at the Tony Macaroni Arena on September 19, 2021, in Livingston, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
LIVINGSTON, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Celtic's Joe Hart at full time during a cinch Premiership match between Livingston and Celtic at the Tony Macaroni Arena on September 19, 2021, in Livingston, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart admitted there could be “no excuses” for his club’s 1-0 defeat at Livingston and that Ange Postecoglou’s side must develop a way of winning ugly.

“Any team throughout the world [needs to be able to grind out results],” the 34-year-old said of a sixth defeat in seven games on the road with the Australian at the helm. “We know that. We’re not under any illusions that we can just turn up and play. Nice football, full-backs on the inside, all of that kind of thing, that doesn’t guarantee you are going to win. It’s not through lack of effort, it really isn’t. It was just one of those days when we just couldn’t find the right chance.

“It would be easy for me to say if we score it would be a different game and a different atmosphere but we didn’t. And those are the facts and that’s what we are trying to deal in. Playing nice football, yes we want to do that, but we want to do it for a reason because we are trying to win the game.

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‘I thought Livi did great, we didn’t. They took their goal really well and I just don’t think we penetrated enough. It was a tough game for us. I don’t think there is much more to it than that. We didn’t take our few chances when they came. We got punished by a good goal.

Hart admitted that defeats in six out of seven away games in this season had now reduced their margin of error to practically zero. And couldn’t be dressed up as other than a real concern.

“These are the facts and we’ve got to deal with that. We are not running away from it,” he said. “But we are trying to build something, what the manager wants from us and what we want. We are all on the same page and we are going to keep pushing. It’s the start of the season, but we can’t really afford too many more of these – if any. But we are all pulling in the same direction and believe that will work for us.”

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