PELLEGRINI PREPARED FOR A REUNION WITH ‘LEADER’ HART

WHATEVER Celtic may lack tonight, Manuel Pellegrini can vouch for the character of the man who will try and protect their goal. Early in the Chilean’s first season with Manchester City in 2013-14, a string of errors saw Joe Hart relegated to the bench with Costel Pantilimon handed the No 1 jersey. In such circumstances, one of two things tends to happen. Either the rattle is thrown out of the pram. Or an individual resolves to get their head down and bounce back. Speaking ahead of seeing Hart back in the saddle with Celtic tonight, Pellegrini 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. We were together for three years and we won the title and two League Cups. ‘But there were also some moments when, for different reasons, Joe had to go on 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 and help them improve and improve himself. ‘That showed me why he was No 1 in England for so long. ‘I was very happy and fortunate to work with him at Manchester City. He is a leader. His career allows him to be in that position.’ Pellegrini might be said to know Celtic from back to front. It was he who signed a young Albian Ajeti for West Ham from Basel. If Celtic fans have yet to see the best of him in Glasgow, Pellegrini feels there is still enormous potential. ‘I brought him from Switzerland to West Ham and at that point he was a young striker with a big future,’ he said. ‘Now he has the opportunity to demonstrate his talent at Celtic and also with the national squad with Switzerland. And I know he is a striker we must be very aware of tomorrow.’ Marc Bartra is the only player ruled out through injury with Pellegrini expecting an open contest this evening. ‘We have a lot of respect for Celtic,’ he said. ‘They have a lot of good players. We are prepared to play our best game.’