John Hartson balanced his heart with his head as he watched Celtic’s dramatic 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach.
Sitting alongside Johan Mjallby in the BT Sport Studio the Welshman went through all the emotions as the match developed with Brendan Rodgers almost pulling off a surprise win.
Hartson knows how difficult it is to get anything away from home in the Champions League with Martin O’Neill’s side managing just one point on their travels thanks to a goal from the Welshman against Barcelona to earn a 1-1 draw in 2004.
Celtic outstanding effort upsetting the odds! Not many thought they could come out and play with such desire and commitment.. #hoops ????
— John Hartson (@JohnHartson10) November 1, 2016
With Swansea as his first love Hartson has a better insight than most into Brendan Rodgers and is thrilled to see how the former Swansea and Liverpool boss has adapted to managing Celtic.
Taking Celtic over to Germany after losing 2-0 at home to Monchengladbach couldn’t have been easy but the Irishman has implicit trust in his players and his own methods.
The loss of three key defenders was taken in it’s stride with Mikael Lustig forming a highly effective partnership with Erik Sviatchenko to protect Craig Gordon.
With Barcelona coming to Celtic Park on the back of a 3-1 defeat away to Manchester City Celtic will need to be at their best if they are to hang onto the dream of European football in the new year.
