Hart: I'm not No.1 contender for England captaincy
Published 21:35 05/02/12 By David Anderson
Joe Hart has played down his chances of succeeding John Terry as England captain, claiming there are stronger candidates than him.
Hart has been touted as a future Three Lions’ skipper because of the way he has matured and developed for England and Manchester City over the last 18 months.
After being ignored for the 2010 World Cup, his position as England’s No.1 is unquestioned and he is one of the first names on Fabio Capello’s team sheet.
Hart is flattered to be viewed as a possible contender, but says he is only thinking about maintaining his good form for club and country.
“I’m flattered to be linked with it, but I think anyone who’s having a consistent run in the England side is being linked with it,” he said. “There are a lot stronger candidates than myself.
“There’s a long way to go. I’ve got a really important season with games for Manchester City and hopefully a couple for England coming up. That’s all I’m concentrating on just now.”
Hart is diplomatic enough to lead his country one day and he neatly dodged being drawn into the controversy over the FA’s decision to strip Terry of the armband a second time for his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand.
“It’s not really for me to comment upon,” he added.
“I don’t know what was or was not said.”
