Joe Hart: I played for Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, but it was Ange Postecoglou who blew my mind

Joe Hart: I played for Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, but it was Ange Postecoglou who blew my mind

Former Tottenham and Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart says Ange Postecoglou "blew his mind" with his tactical nous more than any other manager, including Jose Mourinho.

Hart retired in the summer after three seasons with Celtic, two of them under Postecoglou in with the pair won back-to-back Trebles before the Greek born-Australian left to become Spurs manager.

The former England keeper also spent time at Spurs, before Postecoglou's arrival, where he was for a spell managed by Mourinho - but it is Postecoglou who had a far more lasting impact.

Speaking during a BBC 5 Live discussion about playing in a three-man defence, Hart said: "My last three managers in England, David Moyes, Sean Dyche, [and] Jose Mourinho. All top, top managers in their own right and have done incredible things.

Joe Hart and Jose Mourinho (Getty Images)
Joe Hart and Jose Mourinho (Getty Images)

"But they are very much [about] hard work, dedication, learning what you need to do and going out and performing.

“Then I went and had three years [at Celtic] – two of them with Ange Postecoglou and one of them with Brendan Rodgers. Ange Postecoglou blew my mind because he really opened me up.

“I always thought playing out from the back, does that mean I have to do [Johan] Cruyff turns, pick passes? No, it doesn’t; it means I need to stand on the ball and make sure my centre halves are on either side of me; my six is showing.

Joe Hart and Ange Postecoglou (Getty Images)
Joe Hart and Ange Postecoglou (Getty Images)

“I’m not playing out for the sake of it. I’m playing out to score. If that full press comes and all I see is opposition players next to mine, I'm given that clarity in my mind that there's a little dink into the striker's chest.

“All these things come together, and it’s a totally different game and a totally different thought process.

“I feel truly blessed because I would honestly feel out of my depth sat here three years ago trying to have this conversation [about playing out from the back].”