Hart is urged to 'try again' by boss Guardiola

Date published: 15 August 2016


PEP Guardiola admits Joe Hart is unhappy at being left out of the Manchester City side.

Guardiola wasted little time in shaking things up at the Etihad Stadium as he dropped the England number one for his first match in charge on Saturday.

Hart had to watch from the bench as Guardiola's new-look City laboured to a 2-1 victory over Sunderland - courtesy of a Sergio Aguero spot-kick and a late Paddy McNair own-goal - and the surprising and ruthless selection decision is sure to fuel speculation over the 29-year-old's future.

"I'm pretty sure he is not happy," said Guardiola. "All the players who don't play aren't sacked, they're absent. Of course I would not be happy if absent, but now it is 'try again'.

"I am sorry, I have to decide (on the team). We have 28 players. They have to convince me on the pitch."

Hart generally had an excellent 2015-16 season and has been a key component of City's successes in recent years.

PREFERENCE

But he had a difficult time on England duty at Euro 2016 and City have been linked with other goalkeepers since the arrival of Guardiola in the summer.

The new boss claimed his preference for Willy Caballero at the weekend was more down to the fact the Argentinian began pre-season training earlier than Hart.

Guardiola said: "Maybe the next game it changes. I needed the build-up and to use the goalkeeper to play quicker to arrive the balls behind the line. Willy had this quality first of all, he trained more times."