Joe Hart Explains His Reasons for Entering the Punditry

Joe Hart’s retirement was not as surprising near the close of last season.

The veteran custodian announced that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the season in February, which appeared to give his side a psychological lift for the final stretch.

Indeed, between Hart’s announcement that his playing career was over and the end of the season, Celtic played 15 games, winning 13, drawing one, and losing another.

The Bhoys’ end-of-season form was nothing short of spectacular, and the 37-year-old was a driving force behind it.

The huge stopper was crucial as the Hoops completed the double and received an emotional sendoff. He was serenaded on trophy day, and a week later, he completed his career on a high note by keeping a clean sheet against Rangers in a 1-0 victory.

When Hart first announced his retirement, he stated that he did not want to coach, and it has been confirmed that he will be a pundit for the BBC at the Euros. The Englishman explained his decision.

“The reason I wanted to get into punditry is to educate people who are interested in goalkeeping, and hopefully I can help people understand the position a bit better”, he said [BBC].

“I’ll be trying my best to do that by giving a goalkeeper’s perspective, which can be very different to that of an outfield player. Sometimes when a goal goes in, the analysis you see on TV is about how the keeper should have done better, or has made a mistake.

“That can be the case, of course, and I am not here to protect goalkeepers from criticism, but part of the way I analysed my own performances during my career was to work out exactly why things happened.

“There is often a lot more to a goal than might first appear and I want to try to explore and explain that, and all the different variables that can affect the goalkeeper – from the positions they take up and how they work with their defenders, to the movement of the ball and everything else that is happening in front of them.

“These are things that might seem simple but they really aren’t – and I am willing to go into that detail.”

Celtic submits an application for an additional safe-standing section at Parkhead.

In other news, Celtic submits an application for an additional safe-standing section at Parkhead.