Joe Hart confesses Celtic fans booing SANTA cut deep but hammering of Hearts marks a jolly good turnaround

Joe Hart felt bad that Santa got caught in the crossfire when Hearts gave Celtic a nightmare before Christmas.

But the Hoops hero feels the festive frustration has lifted around Celtic Park and this could end up a season to be jolly after all. Hart could sense the seismic shift at Parkhead on Saturday that’s been brewing over recent weeks Celtic have built momentum and forged a powerful bond with their support again – and it came to the boil as Hearts got hammered on this trip to Glasgow’s East End.

Hoops chiefs might need to think about inviting Father Christmas back so the punters can make amends. Old Saint Nick could even do the duties of presenting the Premiership trophy if Celts can maintain this push right over the finishing line. Hart said: “Obviously I didn’t want Santa getting booed that day. But we got booed and damn right. We didn’t perform well that day and Hearts put us to bed.

“But that happens sometimes, and it’s important that we’ve put ourselves in a good place at the right time. Saturday was the only game that mattered, we put everything into it and got the right result. I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere is only like that when we play like that. There’s only so far they can take us without us performing. Recently we’ve put ourselves in a good position for it to feel right.

“But that doesn’t come easily and it’s not a fluke. It’s down to hard work and the fans realising that we are in a battle and we’re putting it all on the line. We really appreciate them and it was an amazing atmosphere to play in but it can only be that if we perform and show we are putting everything on the line. We were really united on Saturday and I really enjoyed it.”

As did the fans in the stands. The Celtic support got right