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Keeper tipped for England start
Birmingham City, 14:20, February 24, 2010 ,
Joe Hart is being backed for England recognition by Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce and he puts it all down to the goalkeeper's attitude.
The on-loan Birmingham City keeper is widely tipped for his first full international cap for next week's friendly against Egypt at Wembley with Fabio Capello due to named his squad this Saturday.
That would be just rewards for Hart's outstanding season, which has been one of the major reasons why the Blues find themselves in the top half of the Premier League.
As the man who spotted Hart when he was a raw teenager at Shrewsbury and signed him for Manchester City at a knock-down price of £1.5million, Stuart Pearce knows the giant keeper better than most.
Pearce said: "When we first saw Joe we felt he had a lot of the attributes required to become a top goalkeeper.
"He is 6ft 4in and his distribution, with both hands and feet, is fantastic.
"More than that, he has a relaxed, laid-back temperament.
"All young goalkeepers make mistakes, it is a natural part of their progression. But he has the ability to put it to the back of his mind and move on.
"That is important, especially when you play in goal. If you let a mistake get to you for 90 minutes you are going to have a problem."
Pearce and former goalkeeping coach Tim Flowers watched Hart on a number of occasions for Shrewsbury before taking the plunge.
It was a measure of the impact Hart went on to make at City that he subsequently claimed a first-team spot ahead of Andreas Isaksson, who was Sweden's number one keeper at the time.
The 22-year-old retained that position throughout the short reign of Sven-Goran Eriksson and was still first choice under Mark Hughes until Shay Given arrival from Newcastle.
Pearce says Hart's determination to succeed was the main reason behind his loan move from Eastlands rather than settling for another season in reserve behind the Irishman.
He added: "All young players need to play football.
"You can coach them on the training pitch. That is fine and improves them gradually.
"But match situations are the ones that count. That is where you can cost your team three points if you make a mistake. That is where you learn.
"The better players learn very quickly. They see mistakes and rectify them. The lesser players don't. You have to do that in an environment where it matters.
"Joe is such a level-headed kid. He knows exactly where he wants to go and what he wants to be.
"At Manchester City he could just have sat on the bench behind Shay Given and picked up his money. But he said he wanted to play.
"I am sure Birmingham are pushing him because it is so obvious he wants to better himself.
"I spoke with Joe last week. I went to watch him at West Ham and I have had feedback from our goalkeeping coaches.
"The one thing that comes through clearly is that he wants to improve - and improve quickly."