Frank Lampard is delighted to see Joe Hart flying for Celtic – after revealing he tried to sign the Hoops keeper when he was at Chelsea, writes Michael Gannon in Sydney .
The Everton boss is a huge admirer of his former England and Man City teammate and he attempted to lure the shot stopper to Stamford Bridge when he was in charge two years ago. Hart turned the move down as he was determined to be a No.1 again after spells on the bench at Burley and Spurs and jumped at the chance to be the main man at Celtic.
Lampard said: “I’m delighted for him. When I was at Chelsea I wanted to bring him in as no.2 as such because I thought his professionalism and ability would rub off on the players. It would have been a good thing for the group. I understand how he’s done so well at Celtic. He’s a top class goalkeeper and a top class lad. I’m pleased to see him doing well.” Lampard hailed Hart as.a big leader for Hoops and hinted the keeper could one day follow his path in the management. The Chelsea legend said: “It depends on what he wants. Having lived that live myself, it’s much more challenging than playing and a player has to really buy into that when they pack it up.
“You look at the maturity and development of him. I'm not surprised, he was a mature lad when we were at Man City in 2014 and the time with England. He’s continued with that and credit to him for going to some of the clubs he has at the end part of his career and not be starting, but still be a good influence.
“But to go to Celtic and start and perform at the highest level is proof of his character as well as his quality.”
Lampard enjoyed running into Hart in Sydney as Everton edged out Celtic on penalty kicks after a goalless 90 minutes.
Everton played five at the back in a bid to contain Celts and the ploy paid off.
Lampard revealed former Rangers ace Nathan Patterson was straining at the leash to take a spot kick.
He said: "He was with his Rangers links. I was more than happy for him to take it. I like lads who stand up. Patts has got some character. He is a good lad and nicely competitive. Pats was really good for us at the start of the season. Then he got an injury while playing with Scotland and since he has come back in, he has still been finding his feet to get back to those levels but as a young player that is normal. He needs to push on now.”
Scotland star Patterson had his hands full trying to keep tabs on Hoops star Jota but Lampard insisted the experience will help sharpen up his defensive skills.
He said: “I thought he did well with bits but there were a couple of bits that he could be cleaner on, but he is a really good player for us. I was always confident about the attacking side of his game, but as a young player I wanted to see him defensively. At the start of the season it was spot-on and I think he really needs to continue focusing on that side of it. Today, the challenge that was put to him against a player who has got a lot of ability to go either way. I thought he defended pretty well.”
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