Manchester City and England keeper Joe Hart has vowed to repay Roy Hodgson for keeping faith in him despite being axed by his club last winter.
The keeper’s sudden dip in form resulted in his omission from the City side for seven Premier League games – but Hart retained the faith of his national manager and is eager to repay that support.
Ahead of the opening game against Italy, Hart has thanked Hodgson for maintaining he was number one and says he knows that hard work is the only way to remain at the top.
“Of course it was important to hear Roy Hodgson say that but I didn’t feel that City weren’t behind me either,” Hart told press in Brazil.
“Playing or not playing, I still felt I had a place there. I’d like to think I repay that faith by working hard and giving my best.
“Sometimes my best isn’t good enough, sometimes all our best isn’t good enough – that’s life.”
Hart will be the man under pressure should England progress from the group and inevitably be faced with the dreaded penalty shootout.
The 27-year-old stopper believes his experiences, including being dropped have made him a better keeper and is more than aware that another bad spell could see him left out again – for club and country.
“I’m playing for England, one of the greatest nations in football history with fantastic goalkeepers around,” Hart said.
“I’m just trying to be the best I can be. I don’t think ‘I’ve come through it now and everything is fine’.
“I have to keep working because, potentially, I could go through a bad patch again.”
England take on Italy in the hot and humid conditions of Manaus on Saturday night.
Wayne Rooney will be expecting to feature, either on the left or behind the striker, while his United teammate Danny Welbeck appears to be in a straight fight with Raheem Sterling to start on the left wing.
City’s James Milner is an outsider to start in central midfield, with Hodgson likely to call on the Liverpool partnership of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson.
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