'Decent standard' not enough for England's Hart
Thursday, June 9, 2016
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"We have got to be really ruthless," England goalkeeper Joe Hart said of his side's UEFA EURO 2016 prospects as he held forth on Wayne Rooney and his own training-ground rabona.
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Joe Hart broke into a broad grin during today's press conference when my EURO2016.com colleague Laure James asked him about nutmegging team-mate John Stones with a rabona during England's open training session on Tuesday. "I don't know how aware of it I was but it looked good on camera," Hart said with a smile, yet it was not rabonas but ruthlessness that he really wanted to talk about.
According to the Manchester City goalkeeper, if England are to progress at UEFA EURO 2016, they must show the clinical streak that eluded them in their early elimination from the FIFA World Cup in Brazil two years ago.
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"There are going to be key moments, it is pretty simple – in tournament football, key moments are the big points of the games and if we could be on the right end of the key moments then we are going to go far in this tournament," he said.
"Playing to a decent standard sometimes is not enough. We have got to be really ruthless at both ends of the pitch. That is an obvious thing – it is what stood out in the two games we lost in the World Cup [against Italy and Uruguay]. We could have walked off with two victories but we didn't."
It was not all Hart spoke about as he gave his thoughts on his privileged position as an England footballer, Wayne Rooney's role as captain, and the team's readiness to dispel doubts about their perceived defensive weakness after just one clean sheet in 2016.
On enjoying the EURO
"You've got to enjoy it. At heart I am a kid who loves football. I'm not a kid any more, I'm a slightly grown man but I love football and would be watching as a huge England fan if I wasn't involved. I'm lucky to be potentially representing my country in a European tournament so I'm going to enjoy it."
On Rooney's role with the young players
"There are a lot of youngsters but there is a good bond right the way through. At 30 years old, Wayne is such a key part of the squad, and accessible to all the players right the way through. If you look at him doing an interview with Marcus [Rashford for the FA website today] that is how Wayne is. There is definitely a connection and age doesn't really factor into this team. We are one and all pushing in the right direction."
On England's defence being strong enough
"I fully believe in the guys we've got, but we are going to attack as a team and going to defend as a team. We work hard, are well regimented and are ready."