Celtic team bonding, Europe, condition compared to Rangers - Joe Hart speaks candidly ahead of Dundee United match
The 5-1 aggregate loss to Bodo/Glimt in their Europa Conference League play-off last month has provided Ange Postecoglou’s men with more than a week to prepare for their Scottish Cup quarter final away to Dundee United in the latter competition. And while Rangers travel to Belgrade on Thursday looking to book a place in the last eight of the Europa League, their title rivals will have another free midweek ahead of being afforded the opportunity to establish a six-point lead – at least for a day – when they host Ross County on Saturday.
Hart doesn’t deny that Celtic can experience a certain refreshment from stepping off the midweek game treadmill they have been on since the campaign resumed following the winter shutdown. But, without referencing the Ibrox side, it is obvious he would much rather he and his team-mates were still playing every three or four days as is required by Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men.
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Hide Ad“They are just facts aren’t they?” the 34-year-old keeper said of whether the end of European interest would boost title hopes. “If we were still in [the Conference League] we’d be doing our best to stay in it. The fact that we’re not means it’s gone and there’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is focus on the league and the cup. I agree that there is a difference [physically]. But the fact is you are either still in it or you’re not. If we were in it we wouldn’t be thinking about saving our legs for any other competition. We play to win every game.
“It has been hectic, but it just becomes part of your life. When you are used to something it’s not something which really presses on you. In terms of that, I think we are quite lucky because we are all of the same mentality with two games a week. So when that does change it’s a little bit of a shock to the system, probably more this way around than the other way around.”
The relentless schedule has certainly helped on one front. The former England international believes the bond forged within a squad that has wedded together in a matter of months is deep-seated. That is without the go-karting or golf trips, or nights on the town, that were once considered key to fostering strong relations within football teams. Simply the time the Celtic players have spent with one another at the training ground, and in decanting overnight to hotels for their pre-match routine, has allowed them to become a band of brothers. Consistently winning games helps with creating a feelgood environment but Hart identifies Postecoglou’s game demands as also being central to the squad developing a real kinship and trust.
"It's been really busy and we spend a lot of time with each other,” said the Celtic No 1. “Modern-day football is like that when you are playing at the top. We've maybe not been able to do the old-school things which maybe people used to do but I don't know what position we are in with the pandemic. These are strange times but you adjust. That doesn't mean you don't get to know someone. I feel that most importantly we know each other on the pitch. Whether relationships blossom off the pitch is down to human decisions, but there's a respect and a lot of loyalty to each other on the pitch. And that's the most important thing at the moment.
“I think [winning games is biggest glue for squad bonding] when it comes to growing, but the biggest bond is the assessment: how you look at things and what we are working towards. With Ange as the manager we have clear guidelines as to what we are trying to work towards and there is a philosophy that we are buying into now. Even daily, we are still learning things which we are trying to get better at. So the winning is great, but us trying to grow as a group is more important.”