Hart welcomes battle to be England’s number one

LONDON: England goalkeeper Joe Hart insists having to fight to retain his place as Gareth Southgate’s number one for the World Cup is nothing new.

Hart’s chances of maintaining a starting spot in this summer’s showpiece in Russia have been damaged by a lack of playing time on loan at West Ham this season.The 30-year-old made his first Premier League appearance since November in a 3-0 defeat by Burnley earlier this month.

Hart was at fault for Burnley’s third goal, but is hoping to keep his place at club level for the rest of the season.“Since Gareth has been in charge he’s always said I’ve performed really well for him,” said Hart.

“He seems like a loyal guy but the shirt is up for grabs. There are three goalkeeper places and there are some people performing well in the Premier League.“Hopefully I’ve got my place back now and we’ll see where we go with that.”

Southgate has included three other goalkeepers in his squad for World Cup warm-up friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy this week in Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope.