It’s all right to be cocky
Mancini hits back after Keane’s jibe at keeper Hart
Usually Joe saves everything. But anyone can make a mistake. It is impossible to be perfect. Only Mario is perfect every day!
— ROBERTO MANCINI
LONDON: Roberto Mancini admits its Joe Hart is cocky – and the Manchester City boss is just fine with that.
Roy Keane used that word to describe the goalkeeper in the build-up to England’s game against Poland. Hart that went led on to to the make home the side’s mistake side’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw in Warsaw.
But City manager Mancini insisted: “If you want to be a good keeper, you should be cocky sometimes.
“Every goalkeeper is like this. It is important because it’s different to another position. If you want to be a keeper, you should be cocky.
“Last week, Wayne Rooney said on Twitter that Joe is the best keeper in the world, but today he is cocky.
“It is my opinion that Joe is the best keeper in England and one of the best in Europe.”
Manchester United legend Keane claimed on ITV that Hart has become too relaxed and does not have enough competition at City to keep him on his toes. Keane and said: cocky “There and I think is a fine he line has been between a little confident has bit too cocky this year.
“He just relaxes a little bit and takes his eye off the ball and he needs a bit more competition around him.”
But Mancini hit back, claiming Hart works as hard as ever and the criticism from Keane will not bother him.
Mancini said: “Joe is strong enough for this. He knows he is one of the best but he wants to continue to work.
“If you want to be one of the best you have to work hard all the time.”
Hart, 25, rushed off his line in a bid to punch clear a 71st-minute corner in Warsaw on Wednesday but Poland’s Kamil Glik got there first to head home.
Mancini said Hart’s error was just one of those things and joked only bad boy Mario Balotelli never makes a mistake.
The City boss said: “Usually Joe saves everything. But anyone can make a mistake. It is impossible to be perfect. Only Mario is perfect every day!”
Mancini has also told Yaya Toure he is going nowhere and can find all the challenges he needs at the Etihad.
Toure’s representative said this week that the midfielder had achieved all he can at City and needs “new motivations”.
But Mancini said: “Every day we have a new challenge here, every day.
“In 2½ years we won the FA Cup, the Premier League, the Community Shield.
“Now we need to win another Cup, another Premier League.
“We need to work more for this challenge. I think Yaya thinks that, like me, like the other players.
“I am happy that Yaya wants a new challenge because I also want a new challenge, I want to win the next game, the next game in the Champions League, everything together.”
Asked if he fears Toure will go, Mancini replied: “No, absolutely.”
In midweek the 29-year-old player’s representative Dimitri Seluk said he hoped to move his man back to former club Barcelona.
Seluk said: “Toure has done everything that he can with Manchester City and needs new motivations.
“He could sign for many big clubs such as Chelsea or Bayern Munich but I would like it if Barcelona made a bid for him.” — The Sun, London