Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given is set for a showdown with Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini after Joe Hart was handed the number one jersey for today’s Premier League opener against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
The 34-year-old from Donegal said during the week that he would have to consider his position if he lost out to Hart for the opening game, restating his belief that he has to play first-team football at this stage in his career.
He said: “I haven’t joined Manchester City to sit on the bench or whatever. I’ve gone there to play; it’s an ambitious club and I’m an ambitious person; I haven’t gone there to take it easy and put my feet up. If that’s not the case, I suppose I’ll sit down on Monday with the club and see where I can go after that.
“But I’ll see how Saturday goes. It’s a bit early yet to say what’s going to happen. I’m just desperate to play on Saturday; I hope I’ll play and I’m looking forward to the new season. But if that’s not the case then I’ll have to speak to the club next week and then decide what the next step is.
“I’m 34 and you cherish every year, every game, really, and you don’t want to miss any football so, for me, it’s very important that I play football.
“Joe did well last year and deserves great credit for that, but I’d like to think I did okay myself at Manchester City. I missed only the last week of the season and I worked hard all summer to be fit for the new campaign. I would like to think that would stand me in good stead as well.
“It’s tough,” he acknowledged. We’re both capable of playing in the Premier League and we’ve proved that. It’s not an ideal situation because only one player can play and it’s different if you’re a midfielder, you can sort of rotate them and play them in different positions, but it’s a specialist position and you can only play the one player so it’s not ideal for either of us, whoever doesn’t play, I suppose.
“But if I wasn’t to play then possibly a loan thing or something just to get games really, to get playing because that’s why you play football.”
City also handed competitive debuts to Yaya Toure and David Silva. Mario Balotelli, who only completed his move from Inter Milan yesterday, was not in the squad, with Carlos Tevez looking set to start up front on his own.
There were few surprises in the Spurs side, with Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch paired together in attack, leaving Robbie Keane on the bench.