MANCHESTER // Fresh from Tuesday’s 2-0 win over France, England goalkeeper Joe Hart returns to club duty quietly confident that Manchester City can continue their recent run of good form domestically and in the Uefa Champions League.
Manuel Pellegrini’s team face Liverpool on Saturday looking for three points that will see them maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
"It's going to be a tough game for us but we're in a good place," Hart told The National at City Football Academy. "We've set ourselves up well in the table, a little bit of disappointment with the draw" at Aston Villa "in the last game, but we've got a few people coming back from injuries, so we've got ourselves in a good position."
Liverpool travel to Etihad Stadium with a long injury list and modest league form, but Hart says that “all kind of goes out of the window when a new manager comes in,” referring to Jurgen Klopp, the 48-year-old German tasked with reviving the team’s fortunes. “We’ve all had the international break, it all depends on how you recover, but we feel really good and I think we’re a good place.”
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Most of the focus ahead of the Premier League clash will be firmly on Raheem Sterling, who left Anfield for Etihad Stadium in acrimonious circumstances in the summer.
Hart, though, had only praise for his teammate.
“He’s added a new dimension, a lot of speed, a lot of quality,” Hart said of Sterling, the 20-year-old England international who City paid £49 million (Dh275.7m) to sign. “He’s scored a lot of goals for us, and assists; he’s added everything that I expected from him.”
Hart has also been impressed by the speed at which Sterling has adapted to Manuel Pellegrini’s tactics.
“I think the way we play really suits Raheem,” he said. “He’s got some really good players around him. He’s a great person, he’s a good pro, and he’s still a young guy. We would have given him a lot more breathing room than he’s needed.”
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With Sergio Aguero sidelined recently by a hamstring injury, City’s midfielders have stepped up to fill the goalscoring breach, with another of the new signings, the £55m Kevin de Bruyne, excelling.
“Again, he’s brought all sorts of quality, goals,” Hart said. “He’s a really important player for us and for years to come we can definitely count on Raheem and Kevin.”
City have already wrapped up qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League, but Hart does not see that as benefiting them in the three domestic competitions: the Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup.
“We’ve always been quite good at this club at concentrating on the Premier League ... so it’s not really affecting how we approach any game,” he said. “It’s whatever competition is next is kind of how we’ve looked at it recently.
“I’ve said before we’ve got a good enough squad to compete in all four competitions. We take each and each competition seriously.”
Hart captained England in the recent 2-0 defeat to Spain and is one of the more senior member’s of Roy Hodgson’s squad. England qualified for Euro 2016 with a 100 per cent record of 10 wins from 10 qualifiers, but Hart was cautious not to raise expectations ahead of next summer’s finals in France.
“It’s tough for me to say,” Hart said. “I’ve gone into the two previous tournaments feeling very good about things, very confident, but ultimately we’ve not done very well.
“It’s difficult one for me to talk about because I do feel like we’re in a good place. But it’s not a time for talking, it’s a time for turning up and doing well at the tournament.”
While Hart was coy on England’s chances, he believes no one team stands out for them to fear.
“I think the usual teams will be up there” he said. “There will be France, Germany, Spain – all those teams. Belgium have got a good run going at the moment. It’s quite an open tournament, there are a lot of teams there. We just need to put ourselves in the best possible place.”
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