Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has insisted that the early goal in last night’s defeat to Bodo/Glimt made things difficult for Ange Postecoglou’s side, as the veteran shot-stopper called on his teammates to stick together and improve.
There weren’t many players who picked up pass marks on the night away in Norway. However, it would be fair to say that Hart is probably one of the only ones producing some excellent saves after a sticky start to the game.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Hart reflected on what was another difficult night for the Hoops away from home in Europe, insisting that the side must stick together and learn from defeats such as last night.
 “Look, we stick together. We work hard. Sometimes we have to point things out to each other.
“It was tough to be 4-1 down in the tie away from home. Sometimes you need to try to push each other.
“I think we were beaten by the better team over two legs. Bodo deserved to win the tie.
“The home game was a pretty even affair, and I felt we were dominant in terms of having control of the game.
“Bodo took their chances which was obviously key. It set them up for this game, but we didn’t start particularly well.
“The goal made it difficult. We have a focus and a standard no matter what the scoreline is or what situation we are in.
“We work hard and stick to our principles, and we believe we will gain more, even if we lose.”
Over the years, we have seen many performances/results like this from different Celtic sides, and yet we don’t seem to learn from our mistakes.
Granted, that has come under several other managers, so Ange deserves the chance to show he can learn from these sorts of results, but it is crucial that we do finally learn from the mistakes we continue to make on the European stage.
Next season, we could potentially face an even tougher task in Europe. But, to get to that, our focus must now also turn to league action for the crucial run-in of fixtures remaining this season.
Two things: first of all, this Bodo Glimt side is very, very good. Beyond the elite teams from the reputation-laundering leagues, one of the best I’ve seen at Celtic Park in recent years. They took 7 off Mourinho’s Roma for a reason. Secondly, we’re effectively in Year 1 after the wipeout from last season and this year, with the rewards on offer for Champions’ League qualification, the league must take priority. If the Ibrox side get that cash, their route to long-term stability becomes an awful lot easier. If Celtic do, those ridiculously over-inflated, Friday night debt-to-equity press releases will become a weekly event.