Hurting Hart must focus on rediscovering club form
JOE HART will be hurting after this rejection. Now he has to react positively, find a new club and play his way back into form. He went to West Ham to prove he was still England’s No 1. After an indifferent year in Italy with Torino he needed a strong season with plenty of clean sheets. Yet he made some high-profile errors and lost his place to Adrian. When you compare him to Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope, his performances have not been good enough to earn him a World Cup place. But he is not finished. There is still so much he can offer a Premier League team. Hart is one of the most dedicated professionals. His work ethic in training is second to none and he is a real team player. The West Ham players I have spoken to say he is a brilliant role model. There is not an abundance of goalkeepers with his ability who will be available this summer. It has been a difficult two years for Hart. He will have been scarred by the way he was treated by Manchester City, a club where he was undisputed No 1 for several years and won two league titles. It is not easy when you keep going out on loan. You never feel as if you truly belong at the club you have joined and know you could be looking for another move the following summer. Hart still has a year left on his contract at City but the worst thing he could do is go back to the Etihad and be third choice after Ederson and Claudio Bravo. Now is the time for a fresh start with a permanent move to a new club. Whether he will ever play for England again remains to be seen. Butland, Pickford and Pope will be determined to have a good tournament and make the No 1 jersey their own. Hart’s focus should be to enjoy the summer, have a great pre-season and rediscover his best.