JOE HART insists Celtic are taking nothing for granted, despite powering nine points clear at the Premiership pinnacle.
The champions have left rivals in their slipstream with a 100 per cent record of 24 points from eight successive games following the inexplicable 2-0 loss against St Mirren in Paisley in September.
Ange Postecoglou’s men bounced back from a lamentable performance to go full throttle as they clocked up the triumphs while Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Ibrox side faltered big-style by dropping seven points in a 2-1 loss to St Johnstone and 1-1 draws with 10-man Livingston and St Mirren in three of their last four outings.
WE’RE BEHIND YOU…Joe Hart with the backing of the Celtic fans at Fir Park.
Pressure is mounting on the Dutchman in Govan, but events across the city are of no concern to Celtic as they fully intend to hit the ground running when the league restarts with a trip to Aberdeen on Saturday December 17 following the break for the global soccer showpiece in Qatar.
Hart said: “It’s been an incredible effort. The unique schedule with the World Cup meant there was going to be some inconsistent results.
“But we managed to really battle through it domestically to put ourselves in a strong position. We were six points or so back last year before Christmas, so it’s not something we take for granted.
“Like the manager says, we’ll run our own race. It’s such a simple way to view it, but it’s the right way to live. If you start worrying about things you can’t control then you waste energy.”
BY THE RIGHT…Joe Hart in Champions League action against RB Leipzig in Germany.
The 35-year-old 75 times-capped England international netminder, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “It’s been a powerful start, but we live game to game.
“That will continue. The focus and the energy is there.
“We’ve had to dig deep and we’ve showed a different side of us in a couple of games. Now we can enjoy this trip and, hopefully, be ready when he get back.”
Hart missed the Hoops’ 2-1 loss to the local side in the Sydney Super Cup on Thursday with a slight knock, but could be back in time to face Everton in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
