Joe Hart has lifted the lid on the heartfelt conversation with Ange Postecoglou which set-up his career resurgence at Celtic.
At the age of 34, the keeper was overjoyed at having an opportunity to join the Parkhead giants.
But, at the same time, Hart needed to be honest. To both the boss and to himself.
Having been savaged and shown the Spurs door after Nuno Espirito Santo’s brutal putdowns, the Englishman needed crystal clarity.
Hart didn’t want to let Celtic down. He didn’t want to be let down.
Three years after leaving Manchester City for good and after spells at Burnley and with Spurs, his love for playing football had not diminished.
However, his love for some of the aspects within the game had having found himself out in the cold again.
Hart was desperate to sign for Celtic. A move hadn’t come off after talks the year before as he explained: “They decided at the top there was no re-sale [value] in me. So they didn’t want to take me on.
“If I did well, great, they wouldn’t gain anything from it. So I was like, fair enough. It never got started.”
Hart was open to it then. Even more open to it last summer.
But he had tell Postecoglou the truth about where he was coming from. What it needed to work both for player and boss.
It wasn’t demands. Just straight talking. Hart knew the words might ruin his chances to move, but there was no other way to approach the conversation.
Speaking on the In The Stiffs Podcast, he explained: “I was going to be completely honest with how I see football, how I see life and how I see things.
“I’d love to talk to him (Postecoglou) because I think it is amazing that a club like Celtic even want to have a conversation with me.
“There was no falseness to anything I was saying. No agenda.
“I was very clear, this is awesome. Celtic is massive.
“I want to be clear that I am not giving a list of reasons for how you get me.
“You had me at hello. I would love to be here.
“But for me to be successful and the guy that you need, I was almost saying you need to know what you want because if it’s not me, don’t bring me.
“It won’t work and I’ll let this club down if those things that are important to me didn’t work out.
“But he’s a pretty straight up dude. He’s hard. But I got an impression there was good integrity with how he spoke and what we wanted from a human being and how he wanted to behave as a human being.
“We got on the phone, he said: 'Hi Joe, how are you?'
“I was like: 'Look, this is going to seem a bit full-on with what I am about to say, but I need to say it for you to get a clear understanding of where I am at and who I am.'
"You need to be really clear if you want to pursue this with me saying what I am going to say.
“If you don’t, I won’t take offence. But I feel this is what I require to bring something to the table for you.
“I explained the situation and said I am the kind of guy who gives everything that I have got and I feel that’s not got me anywhere so far.
“But I am not willing to give up on my principles. I am the kind of guy who needs love, I like to feel appreciation for what I am doing and feel part of a dressing room.
“I like to help, work with managers, work with people and I like to be backed.
“If you don’t feel that is something you can give to me, then it is absolutely not an issue. Trust me, I’ve had worse things said to me.
“He was like: 'I haven’t asked anyone about you as a goalkeeper. I know what you are like as a goalkeeper.
"'I have done some research on you as a person, I’ve had some good references and now I’ve had this conversation with, I am going to pursue it.'
“I said to keep me updated. There was never a conversation to be had about money. I was either going to do something properly or I wasn’t.
“Turned out I was and I have and this is how I wanted to do it.”
Hart has been a revelation for the manager and his club and is delighted about the straight-up relationship which has allowed him to flourish.
He said: “I have loved being here, loved being part of here.
“Everyone who knows me said, obviously, you can’t be chucking two in every week or people will turn on you, but when they see who you are, what you are and how you represent things, they will buy into it. People have.
“If I came here and had a stinker and after five games I got dropped, I got dropped for footballing reasons.
“Whether I do well or not, I feel people get who I am. That’s more important than anything. I am really happy.”
