Joe Hart Admits Concern Over Man City Future After Guardiola Appointment
Joe Hart has admitted he feared for his Manchester City future shortly after the appointment of Pep Guardiola as manager in the summer of 2016.
Hart was deemed not good enough with the ball as his feet to suit Guardiola’s possession-based style of play that starts attacks from the back, and was swiftly moved on when the Spaniard took over from Manuel Pellegrini.
Claudio Bravo was brought in from Barcelona as Manchester City new number one at Hart’s expense.
The former England goalkeeper was sent on loan to Italian side Torino for the 2016/2017 season before joining West Ham United for another temporary spell the following season.
He was subsequently sold to Burnley in the summer of 2018 but Hart has had to play second fiddle to Nike Pope for majority of the 2019/2020 season.
Having won two Premier League titles at the Etihad stadium, Hart has admitted a dismal showing for England at EURO 2016 left him concerned when the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager arrived.
“I was fairly concerned," Hart told The Guardian when asked about Guardiola's appointment. "Lots of important people tried to reassure me. But you just have a feeling, don’t you?
"I came back late from the [2016] Euros and he made it clear when I got there that I needed to be out by that window. That’s Pep’s brilliance. He makes decisions and stands by them.
"I don’t dislike him. We get on as men and we both love football.
"I made sure we had dialogue. I certainly backed myself to the hilt when we spoke. I listened to what he had to say. There’s more to it than me not being as good with my feet as he wants from a goalkeeper.
"I realised he needed to make his stamp at City. He had a direction he wanted to go and he’s not exactly struggled since, has he?”
Guardiola has won two Premier League titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup as City manager.
