• Premier League

Pellegrini warns under-pressure Hart to improve

ESPN staff
October 4, 2013
Hodgson has backed Hart to improve


Manuel Pellegrini has told Joe Hart he has to improve and has warned his error-prone goalkeeper he is not certain to keep his place.

The Manchester City manager is yet to decide whether to keep faith with Hart - who was at fault for two of Bayern Munich's three goals on Wednesday in the Champions League loss - for the Premier League game against Everton on Saturday.

Hart's dip in form continued with his failure to save Franck Ribery's seventh-minute shot when the Frenchman gave Bayern the lead in their 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

He also made mistakes for goals Cardiff's Fraizer Campbell and Aston Villa's Andreas Weimann have scored against City this season, and when James Morrison netted for Scotland against England in August.

And Pellegrini insisted he has faith in Hart's deputy Costel Pantilimon, whose only appearance this season came against Wigan in the Capital One Cup, and would have no problem in selecting the Romanian.

The Chilean said: "I will decide tomorrow [Saturday] if he starts. Joe knows he must improve the way he is playing.

"Costel Pantilimon is a very good goalkeeper also. He has the right to play. He is working hard and I am absolutely sure, whether it is tomorrow or another game and Pantilimon plays, he will do well."

And Pellegrini said Hart accepted he was to blame for Ribery's strike on Wednesday.

He added: "Of course, he feels that he didn't do very well but I think he doesn't have any problem. He has the trust of all the team and our trust so we hope he will recover from what he did last match."

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