Joe Hart has rejected the theory that England are suffering from a lack of top quality goalkeepers.
With Ben Foster and Paul Robinson opting not to make themselves available for international duty and doubts over Robert Green's long-term commitment to the Three Lions cause, Hart seems installed as England's number one for the long haul. However, the Manchester City goalkeeper is not convinced it is that bad.
"People tend to look at it negatively but you don't need 25 goalkeepers," he said. "You only need five or six good ones. We have some great keepers in the Championship and the Premier League."
He added: "But it is hard to get that number one spot. Unfortunately, there is one spot in a team and the Premier League attracts players from all over the world."
As someone who learned his trade with hometown club Shrewsbury before joining Manchester City, and wasn't afraid to have a year out on loan at Birmingham to further his education, Hart offers some simple advice to any budding stoppers.
"Play whenever you can and learn off the people in front of you," he said. "As a keeper you might sometimes have to suck it up and spend a couple of months on the bench waiting for your opportunity. But you have to get something positive out of every situation."
The only positive for England on Saturday will be a victory when they tackle Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley. Having got themselves to the head of Group G, they need to exert some pressure on co-leaders Montenegro, who are at home to Bulgaria.
It is a fairly straightforward situation, one in keeping with Hart's view of the world.
"You can't live in fear of preventing mistakes," he said. "I could be in the park playing with my nephew, who isn't even three years old. If he kicks it in the corner, I can't save it.
"It doesn't matter who you're playing or what you're doing. You can be humbled as a goalkeeper. Obviously you do everything you can to prevent it, but you have to accept that anyone, at any point can score past you."
Source: PA
