HART WROTE MANUEL ON A TRUE LEADER
MANUEL PELLEGRINI knows Joe Hart is a natural leader and wouldn’t be surprised to see him captain Celtic against his Real Betis side in the Europa League tonight.
The former England keeper is in the frame to take the armband with Callum McGregor injured.
Pellegrini had Hart at Manchester City, where they won the league and two League Cups.
It wasn’t all plain sailing with a spell when he axed Hart for Costel Pantilimon, which incidentally was when the Hoops signing really won over Pellegrini.
The Chilean said: “I have a lot of good memories of working with Joe. At that stage he was the No.1 keeper in England and also in the national squad.
“But there were also some moments when, for different reasons, Joe had to go to the bench.
“There were some performances I was not happy with but when he was on the bench he would work for the team, keep talking to the keeper who replaced him to try to help him improve and improve himself. That showed me why he was No.1 for so long.
“He is a leader, his career allows him to be in that position.”
Albian Ajeti is odds on to lead the line for Celtic and Pellegrini knows the Swiss striker after he bought him from Basel.
He said: “I brought him from Switzerland to West Ham and he was a young striker with a big future. Now he has the opportunity to demonstrate his talent at Celtic and also with Switzerland.
“I know he is a striker we must be very aware of.”
Pellegrini, frustrated his team had to play Granada on Monday before Celtic visit tonight, knows the importance of making a positive start in Group G.
He said: “Celtic are a very good team with a lot of good players. We have prepared to play our best because the first points are going to be important for qualifying.”