AS Celtic left it late to leave Dingwall with all three points last weekend the headlines were inevitably hogged by the men who made the difference; Jota and his hat-trick of assists while Moritz Jenz marking his debut with an 84th minute goal to change the game offered an easy line.
In amongst all that, though, was a Joe Hart save from an Owura Edwards free-kick when the scoreline remained at 1-1. Such was the lateness with which he saw the trajectory of the ball and stuck out an arm that the Ross County fans behind Hart’s goal were already celebrating. It was a pivotal moment in the game but underlined the reliance with which the Englishman has assumed the goalkeeping position at Celtic.
If Hart’s reputation had been damaged with Pep Guardiola’s dismissal and his arrival at Celtic came with quiet grumbles suggesting arrogance and fears his best years were well behind him, Hart quickly silenced them. Big saves change games and Hart’s big moments were quick to arrive; two quick saves in succession against Jablonec immediately set the tone for his Celtic career. If his presence has lent a solidity to Celtic, his conduct has firmly endeared him to the Parkhead support. And his manager.
"I wouldn't have signed him if I didn't think he could play the role the way I want to,” said Postecoglou. “Ultimately, the No1 role for a goalkeeper is to make sure he keeps the ball out of the net and I have always tried to sign good goalkeepers. Beyond that, we want to try to be a team that play out from the back but I don't want my goalkeeper to be the playmaker.
“If we are doing our job correctly and setting up the team in the right way, hopefully the passes that any goalkeeper has to make are the simplest of ones that any goalkeeper can make. It's more about embracing the role and the attitude that the individual has more than the skill set because there's not a goalkeeper on the planet who can't pass the ball five yards.
“The funny thing is most of them are asked to ping balls 55 yards on a dime. My whole thing with Joe was he was an outstanding goalkeeper with an outstanding career and I still thought at his age he has many outstanding years in front of him. It was more about Joe the person.
“Did he want to embrace the new challenge? Did he think he could keep improving? He's been brilliant at that. He's come in every day and he wants to learn and embrace what we are doing. He had every right to question everything I did because he's worked with some of the best managers in the world. He's never done that. He's tried to understand the direction I want to take us in and bought into our football, which is great for me because he's a very influential figure in the dressing-room.”
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt formed a defensive partnership in front of Hart last term that led to the stingiest defensive record in the league. Quite a change from the porous nature of Celtic’s backline in the previous campaign.
Starfelt’s hamstring injury in summer international games has meant a reshuffling with both Stephen Welsh and Moritz Jenz partnering the American internationalist who signed a permanent deal this summer. Quite how it settles over the course of this season will be interesting.
“Last year, Cameron and Carl were outstanding and there's some logic in saying defensive pairings in particular the more they play together, the more understanding they have and the more effective they can be,” said Postecoglou. “Carl and Cam certainly as the season grew on had a really good understanding but we can't go through a season with two centre-backs and I thought we were a bit short last year of depth in that area.
“It's great that Welshy stepped up again this year and was able to do that last year and we have signed Moritz as well who played last week. From my perspective, as long as the players are performing when their opportunities are given to them it's not as much of a problem.
“The difference is a year down the track, guys understand the defensive principles clearly so for guys stepping in it's less of adjustment than it was last year when I was reluctant to throw in different centre-backs at different times because I felt it would disrupt. I think this year that's an area where we will be more settled than other areas where there will be more rotation. With 50-odd games plus this year there's no doubt we are going to need more than two centre-backs.”
Postecoglou has also maintained that there remains a place for James Forrest. The winger is the fourth most decorated player in the club’s history having gathered 20 major honours since emerging through the youth ranks at the club. He signed a new contract with Celtic in May with Postecoglou insisting that for all the competition that exists on the flanks, the Scotland internationalist has something still to offer. “If you asked him if he's ever felt he was guaranteed a spot in this team, or this club didn't have more than two great wingers, I'd be very, very surprised,” said the Greek-Australian. “I don't think anything has changed for him. Yeah it's a challenge at the moment getting some game time but the reason we kept him on last year and re-signed him is because I still think there's value in him.
“He still has the skill set and temperament to perform at the highest level. James would probably explain it better to me, than I to him, that when you are at a club like this that's the nature of it because this club needs to be successful and there's always going to be good players you are competing with in your position, that's the way it is at big clubs.”
