Hart relishes goalkeeper battle as Man City host Roma

Sport360 staff 06:52 30/09/2014
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  • Desperate to play: Joe Hart will return to Man City's team to face Roma.

    Joe Hart has admitted he finds it “hard to see the positives’’ of being rested and said he is relishing the challenge of fighting for his place.

    The England goalkeeper was replaced by summer signing Willy Caballero for Manchester City’s 4-2 win at Hull at the weekend, but is set to be recalled for the visit of Roma in the Champions League group stage match tonight.

    Hart said last week he was in the dark over a new contract with City – his current deal has just under two years left to run – but insists he wants to stay at the club for as long as he is welcome.

    The 27-year-old was dropped last season after a run of errors, but re­claimed his place, and conceded he found it difficult to see any posi­tives from being rested.

    Hart said: “It is hard for me to see it that way. I am sure when I retire from football I will see them, but right now I am not going to see them. Of course I want to play every game, that is my nature, my profes­sionalism. I am not the manager, just a player. I live by the decisions of the manager.

    “We have always had good goal­keepers: David James, (Andreas) Isaksson, Kasper (Schmeichel), (Costel) Pantilimon, it has always been a fight for me to keep my place and that will continue, but I have always had high standards that I will keep to, whether there is one goalkeeper or 20.’’

    City’s opponents Roma have begun the season in breathtak­ing form, winning all five of their matches in Serie A and thrashing Champions League group rivals CSKA Moscow 5-1. That heaps the pressure on City to get a win, espe­cially after Pellegrini’s side conced­ed a last-minute winner to Bayern Munich in their group opener.

    Pellegrini pointed out that City lost their opening group match last season, also against Bayern, but went on to win all the other five and qualify from the group.

    He said: “It is normal pressure. Remember last year we start here against Bayern at home and we lost at home. Maybe that is more pres­sure. But we lost the first game and won the other five games.’’

    Stefan Jovetic is back in the squad after recovering from a ham­string injury but Fernando and Samir Nasri miss out.

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