BRENDAN RODGERS doesn’t expect Joe Hart to ping 80-yard passes to Kyogo Furuhashi’s feet.
But the Celtic boss insists the veteran English goalie can still be his Ed Bhoy next season.
Hart has never been viewed the best sweeper keeper in the game — but Rodgers reckons that’s unfair.
While Man City No 1 Ederson has an array of passes most outfield players dream of, the Hoops goalie keeps it simple.
Rodgers said: “It’s for me to assess everything but I have always liked Joe. He’s 36 but he trains so hard every day and he’s a great influence around this changing room.
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“That will be really important and you can never underestimate that.
“He is undervalued in terms of what he can do with his feet. I don’t need him to be Ederson at Man City — I just need him to keep the ball out of the net.
“Then when the ball comes back to him, I just need him to play simple.
“From what I have seen so far, and from Celtic games in the past, I think he can do that.
“So yeah, that question maybe applies for later on, but as I see Joe now, he’s been fantastic for Celtic and a great influence.
“Like I say, I will assess it over time.”
Rodgers has been doing a lot of assessing during Celtic’s pre-season trip to Portugal as he weighs up where to strengthen.
Odin Thiago Holm and Marco Tilio have already been added to his squad — but more signings are on the way.
He said: “We will look to improve. The best time to improve is when the team has been successful.
“I always think that’s the best time to increase the competition in the squad.
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‘That competition is always good for the players so we will have work to do but I’m confident we’ll be able to do that.
“The team and the club is in a really good place. It is very stable off the pitch with a really good structure in place.
“The infrastructure around the club is excellent and the team is a young team but a team with more development still left in it.
“It’s two different periods but I’m equally excited coming in now and I look forward to the years ahead.”
Celtic have already completed shrewd business by tying down Kyogo, Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda on contract extensions.
Rodgers welcomed that news but added: “There is nothing pending at the moment. Those guys were up for renewal.
“People talk about players coming in but it’s very important to look to keep your best players when you can.
“The two guys signing along with Callum is a fantastic boost for the squad.
“Kyogo and Daizen have been outstanding for the club so to tie them down is great business by the club and also for Callum to extend his time by another five years is absolutely brilliant news.
“So if we can get more strength in then it will put us in a great place to take on all the challenges for this season.”
Rodgers wants domestic domination for Celtic but has also been open about his European ambitions.
The Hoops will start off in the Champions League and Euro football after Christmas is the target — even if that’s in the Europa League.
He said: “We are going into the Champions League and our ambition is to qualify out of that group stage. That is a huge challenge but it’s challenge we will embrace.
“If not, we want to try and ensure we have got European football after Christmas and go as far as we possibly can.
“You have to be realistic. You can be in a Champions League group with some of the richest teams in the world.
“Of course you want to be competitive and we can bring our A-game. But the reality against some of these teams is if we both bring our A-game, they will win.
“If you get a bit of luck in the competition, hopefully we can get out of the group stages.
“That’s what we would love to do but ultimately it’s about trying to get European football after Christmas.
“We will fight for our lives in the Champions League but obviously the further you go in that tournament, the quality increases and the levels go very high. But to be in Europe after Christmas and go as far as possible in whatever competition should be the aim.”
Rodgers was speaking to promote their Dublin clash with Wolves on July 29.
That is also the venue for the Europa League final on May 22, 2024, which was pointed out to the Hoops boss.
He said: “Well there we go — as if by magic! That would be nice, wouldn’t it.
“European football is always the challenge for a club like ourselves but we want to have probably more success in that.
‘I read somewhere about Celtic not having a knockout win for such a long time.
“But for me it’s ensuring that domestically we continue with that success and see what we can do in Europe. That’s the big ambition.”
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