Manuel Pellegrini: Hart needs a rest

After dropping Joe Hart for Costel Pantilimon for Man City’s 7-0 thrashing of Norwich City, manager Manuel Pellegrini was confident that he had made the right decision and insisted that the England goalkeeper will be better for it.

Speaking after the game, Pellegrini said: “Joe needs a rest and it will be useful for him.”

Speculation has surrounded Hart’s position as number one for both club and country this season following a series of errors, and the goalkeeper’s mistake against Chelsea last week which cost his team a point appears to have been the tipping point for Pellegini.

And, after replacement Pantilimon kept two clean sheets in both of his appearances this week (against Newcastle in the Capital One Cup and Norwich), it could be a while before Hart regains his position for Man City,

Whilst the Romanian was relatively inactive against Norwich, he made two excellent saves in the game with Newcastle to ensure that the Blues were able to emerge victorious and, after failing to concede, Pantilimon has given Pellegrini even more thinking to do this week after the Chilean admitted he considered the goalkeeping issue “the whole week.”

“It was not easy to take this decision. Last time I was in doubt before the internationals but I thought that moment it was important to trust in Joe because the England team also needed him.

“At this moment we need a change. We are all behind him and try to recover him as soon as we can.”

Pellegrini did, however, suggest that Hart could return to the Citizens’ starting eleven soon following a period of rest.

“I think Joe is a very important player, he is a great goalkeeper but everyone can have a bad moment in their career. He has it at this moment and I am sure he will improve with a bit of a rest,” the Man City boss said.

With confidence low and pressure high, it is thought that Hart will become a stronger goalkeeper from his spell on the bench and return to the kind of form which saw him lauded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

As the World Cup rapidly approaches, England fans will hope that this is the case as they pray for the Three Lions’ strongest squad to be available – the Joe Hart who shone against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last season is far preferable than the stopper who calamitously rushed out of his goal against Chelsea last weekend.

Man City fans, meanwhile, will likely also hope this – as good a goalkeeper as Pantilimon is, there is a reason why he has lingered behind Hart since his arrival in 2011 and why Hart was favoured for the FA Cup final last season despite the Romanian playing the rest of the tournament.

Hart’s period of rest, it is thought, will allow him to regain the confidence which he has emanated throughout his career at Man City. Following his high-profile errors, this is a positive for all parties involved.