Alex McLeish believes Birmingham's on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart is
"a major contender" to be England's number one at this summer's
World Cup.
The Blues manager claims Hart is on the way to becoming "a
great goalkeeper" if he maintains his current levels of form. Hart
made the season-long switch from Manchester City to St Andrew's to
play regular first-team football and to press his international
claims.
The former Shrewsbury player has made a major contribution to
City's current top-10 position in the Premier League. He also
defied Nottingham Forest with several fine saves in Birmingham's
1-0 home success in an FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday, which
clinched a visit to Everton.
McLeish said: "The Italian coaches (with England) will be
looking for all the ingredients from a goalkeeper - kicking,
handling, shot-stopping, distribution. "With Joe, from what I can
see, all the ingredients are there.
"Is he good enough for the England number one spot? I think
he is up there. He's got to be a major contender.
"It seems a bit open (the number one spot) and I think there
is an opportunity for someone.
"Fabio Capello is a top coach and doesn't need any advice
from me but I am sure the England camp will be scrutinising all the
goalkeepers very closely."
McLeish added: "Joe was on top form again against Forest and
he has made some great saves and kept us in the game at a time when
Forest can count themselves unlucky.
"He has also played his part in the league and saved us some
valuable points.
"They say great goalkeepers can save you 10 points during the
course of a season and Joe is well on his way to that.
"In my opinion, he is on his way to becoming a great
goalkeeper if he keeps playing to these current standards."
Birmingham are unbeaten in 14 games across all competitions
but McLeish claims his side will be underdogs when they visit David
Moyes' Everton side in the next round.
He said: "I am sure that David Moyes will be looking for a
much better second half of the season from his team.
"They've definitely got the players in there who can do a lot
better and that's normally what happens with teams like Everton in
the second half of the season.
"We will go up there and we are under no illusions that
Everton will be favourites - but we've surprised a lot of teams
this season."
