No Joe Hart Tomorrow Would Highlight Celtic’s Problem Area In A Way No-one Can Ignore.

We’re going into tomorrow’s game with rumours swirling that Joe Hart is not going to make the game. Where these rumours have come from, I do not know; I’ve heard variations on this stuff before and it’s turned out to be rubbish.

The amateur code-breakers think they’ve seen confirmation on the social media posts of Benny Siegrist.

I have to admit, I’ll sleep soundly tonight whatever the outcome of this. Siegrist was signed to be a dependable backup and he’s not been given much game time.

There’s a lot of concern over the prospect of throwing Scott Bain into any game.

Every one of us knows that this was an obvious problem which needed fixed. The summer was the perfect time to do it and a lot of folks expected that we would. We have to take this one seriously.

Big Hart has been a good servant to the club and his exceeded my expectations of him, but he’s at an age now where even keepers are not immune to the effects of ageing.

None of our backup guys is trusted to take the step forward. If Hart is out tomorrow one of them will have to; I have no concerns because I don’t expect Kilmarnock to threaten us that much over the 90 minutes.

If the big man’s injury keeps him out against Feyenoord, that would be a much greater cause for sleepless nights and some bitten nails.

In truth though, I like big Siegrist and thought he was a good signing in the first place, a very decent option to step in at need. So I don’t think he’d let us down if we had to throw him in there and ask him to hold the fort down for a short time.

But what we’re seeing here is just how bare is the cupboard when it comes time to look at this position, and that time has probably arrived. If this is what crystalises thinking – and it should – then it may be a good outcome for us, provided, that is, that it doesn’t cost us points in the meantime.

It’s an area of the team where we’ve woefully slept at the wheel.

This drives home the point. Surely this is an area we’re looking at for January, and if not then for the summer, when we need to sign a top class goalkeeper who goes right into the team as a starter?

Nothing less will do at this stage.

We should not, at this point in the season, be sitting here worrying over who replaces Hart if he’s out and dreading either of our options.

Especially not when some people have serious doubts about Hart himself to begin with.