West Ham’s hardened Joe Hart says he doesn’t care about what Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola thinks about him
England ace was sent out on loan again by the Spaniard this summer and will ply his trade at the London Stadium this term
JOE HART has taken a swipe at Pep Guardiola by saying he does not care about the Spaniard’s opinion of him.
The England keeper, 30, was unceremoniously axed last summer by the Manchester City boss and farmed out on loan to Torino.
Today he returns to the Premier League and Manchester to take on City’s rivals United as he starts a season-long loan with West Ham.
Guardiola does not believe Hart can be the sweeper-style keeper he wants and opted for error-prone Claudio Bravo and Willy Caballero last season then signed Ederson Moraes from Benfica this summer.
Asked if he wanted to make a point to Pep, Hart said: “I’m trying to make a point to Slaven Bilic and Gareth Southgate.
“They’re my coaches, the people whose opinions I care about.
“I can adapt to whatever my manager wants. I felt like I could do whatever the Torino manager asked me to do and feel capable of doing what Slaven asks of me.
“It has been the same when I’ve been with England and any manager I’ve played under.
“I feel comfortable that I can achieve what they have asked me to do.”
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Pep was criticised as Bravo and Caballero produced poor performances and many fans felt Hart would have been a better bet.
Hart said: “That’s City’s problem. I need to look after myself, I need to be selfish in this situation.
“But my feelings for City will never change. I’m eternally grateful to them as a football club.”
Hart spoke to England boss Southgate about his intention to join West Ham along with former Hammers and Three Lions keepers David James and Rob Green.
He said: “I kept Gareth updated and he thinks it’s the right place for me to be. Jamo said I’d love it here when I spoke to him.
“I want to be an England keeper playing for West Ham, I really do.”
Hart chose to wear No 25 rather than No 1 this season to reflect his loan status. And he has been sporting a black eye all week after coming off worse in 50-50 with Andy Carroll in training.
He said: “My induction was to have a fight with Andy!
“I spread myself for the ball and get hit in the face a lot but this is the first time it’s marked me. Andy didn’t come off worse than me.”
Striker Javier Hernandez will be returning to Old Trafford for the first time as a West Ham player.
Hart said: “I’m really excited for him to be the main man for us, score lots of goals and be the man that you know he is.”
Hart says West Ham should target a European spot this season and added: “I do not feel we should be going into any game expecting to lose.”
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