JOE HART could be in line to make his Celtic debut in tonight’s Europa League qualifying tie against FK Jablonec, as Ange Postecoglou raved about his new signing’s attitude.
The Celtic manager was delighted that Hart decided to travel to the Czech Republic to meet his new teammates after only signing for the club on Tuesday, and he trained with the squad for the first time yesterday afternoon.
Postecoglou says that he will now make a call on whether to pitch the former England number one straight into his starting XI.
“He’s been training well with his club and he was also really keen to come in straightaway,” Postecoglou said.
“I gave him a little bit of an option that he could stay back in Glasgow. But Joe made it pretty clear he wanted to come across and join in training immediately.
“I’ll assess him in training and we’ll take it from there.
“It absolutely says a lot about Joe’s attitude [that he travelled to the Czech Republic]. He was really excited about the prospect of signing for Celtic, which is important to me.
“I think at the moment it’s as much about off the field as it is on it. It’s about getting a dressing room settled and guys coming in who are really excited about the prospect of playing for this football club, irrespective of their age or where they come from.
“Joe really showed that excitement and that delighted me.”
Fellow new arrival James McCarthy did however remain in Glasgow, with his circumstances putting him slightly behind Hart in terms of his preparations for the new season.
“James was released by Crystal Palace at the end of last season and he has been training on his own,” said Postecoglou.
“Joe, though, was still training with Spurs up until a couple of days ago.
“We’re going to assess James back in Glasgow and he’ll be working with our staff at Lennoxtown.
“I’ll get my first look at him at the weekend and see how he feels.
“We’ll be keen to get him involved as quick as possible. But James’s situation is different to Joe’s.”
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