On-loan Birmingham goalkeeper Joe Hart says he is loving life at St
Andrew's - but refuses to be drawn on where his long-term future
lies.
The 22-year-old is proving an outstanding success during his
season-long loan from Manchester City, leading to speculation he
may stay on with Blues after the summer.
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has already revealed any hopes
the Blues had of making the switch permanent have been dashed as
City see Hart as a big part of their long-term plans.
But McLeish has not ruled out trying to take Hart again on
loan, although the keeper himself refuses to be drawn on such
off-the-field matters, preferring to concentrate on helping Blues
extend their 11 game Premier League run.
Hart told the Sunday Mercury: "I'm really enjoying it at
Birmingham. They are great people, a good club and great fans.
"You can't go on a run like we've done with a bad egg in the
team, we've got all good, solid lads.
"Regarding my future, there is nothing I'd rule in or rule
out. It's not anything I'm considering right now simply because I'm
just enjoying what I'm doing.
"There's no hassle. There's no pressure and I'm on loan until
the end of the season. That will never change, regardless of what
anyone says.
"So I'm going to be here until the end of the season and I'm
really enjoying the prospect of turning out and hopefully getting
more performances in like we did at Stoke."
City have new boss Roberto Mancini at the helm but Hart does
not think the Italian will be bringing his own man into the number
one spot at Eastlands to replace Shay Given. He added: "Mancini's
got the money but he's also got Shay Given.
"I don't know how much money would replace him.
"I speak to Shay regularly. He's a great guy and a great
goalkeeper."
While Hart has pulled off a number of eye-catching saves in
the games against Chelsea and Stoke, he refuses to be singled out
for praise, instead heaping the plaudits on the defence in front of
him. He added: "I suppose it makes me stand out more, but I've said
in previous interviews, in the games against Chelsea and Stoke I
had to make saves, but in games before that, casting my mind back,
I've not really had that much to do.
"The lads in front of me have been awesome - they still are.
They were excellent at Stoke to keep defending against that
bombardment and they've given them two chances in the whole game -
that says a lot for our defence. I can only repay them by making
saves.
"We are growing in confidence and as a team we are a solid
unit and we've just got to keep doing that."
Next up is the visit of Manchester United to St Andrew's on
Saturday, where Hart may get singled out by the visiting fans given
his City links, although the young keeper is undaunted.
He added: "It's another bit of fun. It's a great prospect.
It's good to be going into games how we are - the confidence, the
belief and the desire the boys have got - and we can just go and
enjoy games like that.
"Hopefully we can give the fans something to cheer about
against Manchester United."
