HAZARD OF THE JOB Never mind a new deal, only matches will satisfy Conor says McKnight
ALLEN McKNIGHT is delighted Conor Hazard has the contract.
But the former Celtic keeper insists it won’t mean much unless his compatriot gets a chance to follow the route of Leicester No.1 Kasper Schmeichel and take a firm grip of the gloves.
McKnight believes Hazard is approaching a crossroads at Parkhead similar to the one he ended up facing.
The 23-year-old was handed a new two-year deal last week after a spell in the first team that included a heroic penalty shoot-out show as his team won the delayed 2019-20 Scottish Cup Final against Hearts.
Since Hampden, though, Hazard has played just four times.
Vasilis Barkas was recalled for a 2-2 draw at Livingston in January before Scott Bain took over, keeping the spot for the past 10 matches.
McKnight believes Hazard is at a stage when he needs to be playing if he’s going to make it at Parkhead, having faced the same dilemma.
After deputising for an injured Pat Bonner during Celtic’s 1988 centenary Double season and winning himself a fresh deal, McKnight was lined up for a return to the reserves.
Knowing he needed to play, he took the option of joining West Ham.
McKnight hopes Hazard – who has been out on loan at Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Dundee – doesn’t face the same choice.
The Northern Irishman said: “Training doesn’t satisfy you. Contracts don’t satisfy you. It’s matches that satisfy you.
“He’s at a crossroads now. If you take it like for like with me, I was a year older – I was 24 and Conor is 23. Myself and Packie were there and I was told I was going to play in the first team. I got a run of games during one season but I was bang to rights at the start of the next.
“Pat got back and I was back in the reserves. West Ham came calling and I thought I could go and play in England. Off I went.
“It didn’t work out as I’d hoped, so moving isn’t necessarily the right thing to do. But you need to get a break at some stage.
“Look at Adrian. He was seven years on the bench at a Spanish club but got games at the end of one season and a move to West Ham, had a run there and on to Liverpool, where he won a Champions League medal.
“It’s right place at the right time but goalkeeping is hard.
“You can spend two or three years out and that’s my worry.
“Conor could sit for another season and we talk about this again this time next year.
“I’d imagine Conor will be hoping to get half-a-dozen games before the end of the season.
“Kasper Schmeichel is one of the best keepers in England because he’s been doing it from day one.
“He locked down his position, he learned on the job as a kid.
“It doesn’t matter what you do in training, you still have to learn the match demands.
“It’s fingers crossed for me. I wouldn’t want anyone to fall ill or anything but maybe he can get another go due to someone dropping out, go back in again and get games.”
With Celtic’s chances of winning the title officially over,
“He turned 23 last week and it’s time to lock down a keeper’s position. It’s early in a keeper’s career at that age but once you have tasted it, you want to keep it going.
McKnight reckons now is the perfect time for the youngster to be reintroduced to maintain his development.
The new contract appears to be a show of faith from the club but McKnight said: “If Celtic were going out into the marketplace to try to secure a back-up or a No.2, they’d need to spend an awful lot more money than they’d have to pay Conor.
“I’m just wondering if there’s a little bit of protection from Celtic in making sure they don’t lose him.
“When I was No.2 to Packie, I was quite cheap.
“When I was speaking to West Ham, my terms changed six and seven-fold.
“My number lifted once Celtic knew there was an outside interest. Speaking from personal experience, it was difficult to survive feeling you were good enough to play and you weren’t playing. You’d gone in, you’d done it and felt as though you’d done enough.
“I played behind a great Celtic defence. There’s a bit more pressure on a keeper now playing behind the defence as teams feel Celtic are vulnerable. “This is an ideal time to use Conor because nothing is going to change in terms of their league position until the end of the season. “If they are not going to throw him in now, you have to question if they see him as the future.
“I look at it and think if they are preparing him for the future, they should be looking at him over the remaining weeks.
“He’s at Celtic because he has a talent and likes the club.
“Nothing would please him more than to play and win for the club.
“That’s an asset because if he’s doing well, they have someone who wants to be there.
“But if he doesn’t get a run, his mind might start to wander.
“He has all the attributes – right size, right age. You want to have a go now, you want to test yourself in the biggest situations.”
This is an ideal time to use Conor as nothing will change in the league
ALLEN McKNIGHT TALKS UP HAZARD’S CHANCES