The thing I love about ex-Celtic players in the punditry business is that they always give open and frank opinions on how they think the club is doing.
Chris Sutton and Mark Wilson are two pundits that come to mind. Although Sutton is probably the most hard-hitting of the two.
But one man, who I have always said on this blog, who is one of my favourite pundits is now looking to move out of the media business.
John Hartson is now of the Celtic pundits that wears his heart on his sleeve.
He genuinely loves the club and the supporters and you can see that when he is working on the match when he refers to the club as ‘we’ on TV and radio.
But what endears Hartson to the support is his honesty.
Critical when required and complimentary when it’s deserved.
His honesty when talking about the ill-fated Neil Lennon days was also legendary.
But it looks like his time in the media could be approaching an end.
Speaking on the On The Ball podcast, Hartson revealed, “With someone like me who’s in the limelight, I’ve got to trust people.
“I’ve got to pick and choose who I hang around with. Make sure I’m in the right company.
“And I don’t see a long-term future in the media. I don’t want a long-term future in the media.
“I’m going to the World Cup on Saturday here. I’ve got eight games to cover. I enjoy working with ITV over in Qatar.
“I do enjoy it, but I don’t see a long-term future.
“Because four or five years ago, I had contracts. Three-year deals, covering 40-50 games a season. I just feel that now there’s a younger element coming through.
“There’s a new generation of pundits coming through, and I think you got a shelf life.
“So, I’ve got one or two things happening for me.
“One or two business ventures and things like this, in Edinburgh and one or two other plans.
“So I’m happy where I am. I don’t mind dipping my toe in for the World Cup. It’s a great gig.
“I don’t mind doing the odd Sky gig. The odd BT gig.
“I don’t think I’m going to be one of those that signs a three-year contract with the BBC. I think my days of that have gone now.”
I have to say, I’ll be disappointed when that day comes.
I love listening (and reporting) whenever Hartson speaks about the club and when the day comes that the Welshman does decide to hang up his microphone, it will be a sad one indeed.
Mark Wilson ? Are you having a laugh the next time he backs celtic to the hilt will be the first
He generally does tbf to him