Hart hails 'sensational' Silva

Hart hails 'sensational' Silva

Published Nov. 10, 2011 1:17 p.m. ET

Hart is enjoying an elongated run as England number one and has played in 11 of the last 12 internationals. In contrast, Silva struggles to make an impact for the World Cup holders and, despite his oustanding form for City this season, he will not be an automatic selection for Saturday's match at Wembley. Hart said: "David is a big part of our team on and off the field. We get on really well with him and he is a fantastic player. He has been sensational. "It hurts me sometimes when I see the Spain team and he is not in it because I know he is good enough by far. "I'm pleased at how he is progressing and hopefully it will push him to be a number one starter in the Spanish side. "I think he deserves that but he has got some great players around him. "I speak to him a lot about Spain because I want to know about the best teams in the world and find out what's going on." Hart has massive respect for Spain but is adamant England are also brimming with quality as they start the countdown to next summer's Euro 2012 finals with the first of several friendlies. He said: "I watch exciting football and most of their players are at the heart of the exciting football in Europe at the moment. "But we shouldn't get too wrapped up in looking at the opposition. "We are a good side, with some great young talent, and will look to put a show on. "It will be a learning experience but at the same time they are not light years ahead of us. We are not in awe of them. "International football also isn't about always playing the top three in the world. "It's also about going to some of the tougher places around the world and Europe to play some real hard games." Hart had a word of comfort for his City team-mate Micah Richards after his omission from the squad and is confident he will regain his spot. He said: "I spoke to Micah about it. He has done fantastic this season and captained the side at times. "If it was up to me to pick the squad, he'd be in it but it's not, it's up to the manager and he's not made many mistakes so I can't question it one little bit. "It hurt Micah a bit but it hurt him for the right reasons. "He has not taken offence to it and he wants to do well and get the recognition and get in the England squad. "I'm pretty sure if he carries on how he is, he won't be far off." Hart is reluctant to become embroiled in any discussions about his City team-mate Carlos Tevez who has caused more controversy this week by returning home to Argentina. But he believes it is important to look forward rather than letting the Tevez saga become a major issue in terms of City's progress. Hart said: "You just get on with it. If you see Carlos, you speak to Carlos. We've got on with it and you can't let little things like that hold you back. "There is no point because it won't get you anywhere. We've just moved on and done our best to move the club on."

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