Joe Hart is loving life at Celtic at the moment but admitted he didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he joined the Scottish giants.
The former England goalkeeper helped the Parkhead club win the Scottish League Cup last weekend after signing on a three-year contract from Tottenham at the start of the season.
He has already made 30 appearances for the club and is establishing himself as a first-team regular for manager Ange Postecoglou.
“It was something we set out with a goal of doing at the start of the season,” Hart told talkSPORT host Jim White about the trophy win. “We have taken care of that one, it felt good, but we move now.
“We have three or four games before the winter break and the focus just have to shift.”
On Australian boss Postecoglou, he continued: “What I’m really enjoying about him as a manager is he’s very clear in what he wants. It’s very simple. There’s no real wiggle room, which I like.
“The way I’ve been brought up from 15 or 16 in football is you like to be told what to do and how to do it, with a little bit of room to express yourself.
“Especially in my position as a goalkeeper, I like things simple and that’s what this guy does.
“He spoke to all of us individually as characters before we can, sussed us out as characters.
“I spoke very honestly. I’ve been around a long time and I was a little unclear about what I wanted from football.
“So, I told him how I felt and what I needed to get the best out of myself. If that wasn’t going to work up there then I totally understood.
“He felt it was a good match and that is playing out.”
Hart also admitted he was not prepared for the experience of playing for a club like Celtic, despite asking friends what it was like.
He added: “When I did my research on the club, you don’t really need to do too much, but people I know and trust who played up here, the common message is you don’t know what you are getting yourself into until you are up there.
“It’s so true. I don’t say that because I want to impress anyone. I’m not particularly bothered if people believe me, but it is something you have to experience.
“When you do, as my friends and family have, I obviously have and it’s special. It’s a great place to be and I’m enjoying it.
When asked by Jim White if he was playing for the biggest club in his career, Hart said: “I feel at the moment right now, they don’t need to sell themselves. That’s for other people to argue. From what I’m getting from a true Celtic fan is they don’t talk about anyone else.
“They are not particularly disrespectful about other teams, apart from the obvious, but when it comes to their club they just live and breathe Celtic.
“They are not particularly bothered about anyone else.”
Hart also spoke about his former teammate Sergio Aguero, who sadly had to retire from football due to a heart condition.
The pair won two Premier League titles together, the first being the famous last minute winner scored by Aguero against QPR in 2011/12.
Hart said: “It’s very sad for him. The key message in it, and I’m sure he’s going to take from it, is that he’s got his health. He’s got his family.
“It’s important to realise there’s more to life that football. A lot more to life than football. He’s hopefully got a good 50/60 years left in him to reap the rewards of an amazing career.
“In terms of him as a person, he was just a really cool, cheeky, confident guy. On the pitch he came to life and off the pitch he wasn’t necessarily that alive. He was relaxed, a lot of shoelaces dangling around in training.
“The coaches and managers who had him, and us as players, we realised how hard we had to be and hard we had to work every day.
“In terms of creating that environment, he was that elite special player who you left to be happy.
“You keep them happy and they win you games.”
Hart played 348 times for Man City before being deemed surplus to requirements by Pep Guardiola, but he insists he is not bitter about his exit.
He added: “It’s football. As I’ve said before, it was obviously an ideal situation that I never shied away from.
“I loved being there and loved playing there and loved the direction. It wasn’t about what I wanted. People came in who didn’t want that to happen and that’s not because they had anything against me, they just had a different vision.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t fit into it. It wasn’t ideal and I’ve been over it many times. A lot of love for that place.
“My love stems from when I played with Trev [Trevor Sinclair] when I first came in. It was a huge club to me.
“They were in the lower half of the Premier League, but there were established England stars like Trev and people like that in the team.
“That will forever be in my heart. I love the club. The team chops and changes, with modern day football, it’s tough to keep up with.
“As far as the club and the people of Manchester City, we will always have a connection. That will always stay with me and is something I’m proud of.”
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