Joe Hart has told how Ange Postecoglou's 'awesome force' was a key factor in bringing the veteran goalkeeper to Celtic Park for a stint - when his career could quite easily have ended.
Alongside Premier League greats such as Petr Cech and David de Gea, Hart was considered one of the English top-flight's best shot stoppers, winning the Premier League Golden Glove four years from five between 2010 and 2015. However, the introduction of Pep Guardiola as manager saw him flounder, with his distribution supposedly not good enough for the Spaniard's liking.
That saw him move to Burnley following unsuccessful loan spells at West Ham and Torino, before the emergence of Nick Pope pushing him further down the pecking order at Turf Moor. But having found a new home at Celtic despite being 34 when signing, Hart has blossomed in Glasgow - and he puts it all down to Ange giving him one final chance as a top-level keeper, proving everybody wrong in the process.
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Hart told The Fozcast: "I spoke to Ange and I thought that if something came up I didn't want to do, I am not going to do it. If it means that I need to sit for another year and then that was me out of football, so be it.
"I have done what I need to do in football. Respectfully, I didn't know much about his background and he was so cool. I probably sounded like a strange guy as I said I needed to speak first.
"I didn't mean it in a rude way but this is what's gone on, this is why I am struggling with football and for me to work, this is how you will get the best version of me if we do get there.
"Give me a chance to show what I can do, all I want to do is be part of something. I didn't know he was a total football manager, I didn't know he'd turned up to Celtic and hadn't brought any staff with him. Just walked in and he is an awesome force, an unbelievable coach, a really strong presence. Asks a lot of people but because he believes they can do it."
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