England manager Roy Hodgson has given his support to Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
The English shot-stopper was at fault for all three of Bayern Munich’s goals last night during City’s 3-1 Champions League defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
Social networking sites and all of today’s papers jumped on the back of Hart and all criticised the keeper, but his national manager gave him his backing.
‘Goalkeepers are always going to be in that situation, they are like forwards who don’t score.
‘They are in the firing line when it comes to criticism. It’s easier to criticise them than the player who made the initial mistake.
‘I’m sure Joe will shrug this off, he won’t be happy, but it’s a fact of life. He has never let us down and I have every confidence and faith in him. He will put it behind him.
‘Your confidence improves when you get rave reviews. He went through a bad period last night, he let in three goals.
‘He kept a clean sheet against Moldova and Ukraine – we’ve let in three goals in eight games. It will take a lot for me to replace him. We need experience in these games.
‘If you look at the keepers we have, he is the No1.’
‘This is not a good moment for Joe, he’s a proud man. But I believe in him and he’s the right man for the job.
‘That’s the only way I can answer the question honestly. I talk a lot to everyone so I don’t know why he should escape.’
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
