St Mirren goalkeeper Trevor Carson has praised Celtic shot-stopper Joe Hart ahead of the Scottish Premiership match between the two sides in Paisley.

They have faced off three times already this season, with the Saints winning once and the Hoops coming out on top on the other two occasions.

And Carson has revealed that he knew from the very start that the Englishman would be a top prospect in the game and that the two have a good relationship.

Speaking to Renfrewshire Live Sport, he said: "I played against Joe when I was with Northern Ireland Under-19s. It was in a European qualifying tournament out in Belgium when we had England in our group.

"So, I knew of him from a young age. One of my close pals was a goalkeeper in those England squads and always told me to watch out for this young keeper.

"I remember going to watch Kyle Lafferty one time when he was on loan at Darlington. Joe was only 17 and playing for Shrewsbury. I remember coming away thinking that keeper was a bit special.

"“Lo and behold it was Joe and he went on to join City and to win Premier League titles and so many caps for England.

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“I have nothing but admiration for him and of course you look up to people like that. It was quite surreal playing against him the first time up here as it’s only six or seven years since he was playing at World Cups, wearing the England No 1 jersey and winning premier leagues.

“Now all of a sudden he’s up here and we’re playing against him. What a nice guy he is, though. He always takes the time in the tunnel to ask how you are, and not just with a throw-away, “how are you?”.

“He’s genuinely such a nice guy and someone I’ll look back once I’m finished and be able to say I played against him when you watch World Cup highlights.

“He’s a fantastic keeper and massive for how Celtic play. He’s brought that winning mentality."

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