Joe Hart has said he could be part of the away section at Ibrox in years to come, after the the news broke last week that the allocation will increase to around 5% in both grounds to about 2,500 away supporters each.
The former England number one is preparing to bid farewell to his playing days at Celtic, a club that has clearly captured a special place in his heart.
Despite the unique circumstances surrounding Glasgow Derby during his time, with limited to no away fans due to ticketing disputes, Hart’s experience at Celtic has been deeply enriching. The anticipation of a resolution to the fan allocation issue next season brings a bittersweet note to his departure, as he looks forward to embracing the role of a supporter, cherishing the electric atmosphere he once experienced at Hampden.
Hart’s commitment to Celtic goes beyond his tenure as a player. He expresses a genuine excitement about supporting the club in the years to come, saying: [The Herald]
“I genuinely look forward to supporting this club forever, it’s a part of me.
“This is me removing myself from a guy who doesn’t want to talk about what’s next, but I look forward to being a football supporter at some point in my life. And this is one of the teams I’ll be a fan of.
“I’m going to remove myself from the situation I’m in now because my immediate reaction is that it means nothing to me [the restoration of away allocations]. But if I was to take away the guy I’ll be when it’s going on it’ll be great.
“It’ll be a real buzz. I’ve played in a 50-50 split here when it was at Hampden and it was electric. [Whether you] come out good side [or] come out the bad side, it’s emotional.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had fans, I think the most has been 700-750, and it was strange at the start of the season, winning away and having no-one to put your gratitude towards.
“Because even though we played without supporters that day you still feel it in the build-up, to have your support and your club behind you, so it’ll be nice, it’ll be a great spectacle.
“Around the world this fixture is heavily respected and to keep that respect you need away supporters in there. You never know, I might be one of those couple of thousand.”
Hart has been a magnificent signing for Celtic, balancing the ship between the sticks and adding quality and experience to the Celtic line. Replacing him this summer will be no easy task.
