Despite trailing Manchester United by 15 points, City and England’s number one claims the Blues remain a major force and are still the team to beat.
“We have not fallen away. People say it’s a massive backwards step not winning it, but it’s not like we’ve dropped out of everything,” he said.
“We’re still the side to beat, we‘re still right up there and we’ve kept our respect and our dignity. We’ll come again; we’re not a flash in the pan.”
As Roberto Mancini’s men prepare for Monday’s derby at Old Trafford, memories of last year’s unforgettable 6-1 win begin to flood back.
However, the 25-year-old keeper won’t allow himself to dwell on past victories and insists the team must look forward.
“It was just one result in a good season for us,” he declared.
There are other things on the agenda now and that isn’t even on our minds. We’ve got to look to go and get a result, to keep going and pushing in the league.
...Joe Hart...
“This is a big game for us and we owe it to our fans to put on a performance. We’ve not really given them the highs go of last year and that’s what we wanted.
“Hopefully a good couple of results will go some way to repairing part of the damage.”
With an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea on the horizon, Hart admits a derby win would provide a sizeable boost for the Blues ahead of their trip to Wembley.
“The title looks a bit beyond us now, but we need to try and cement second place in the league place if that’s the case and go into the FA Cup semi-final feeling good,” he said.
“There’s still plenty to play for. We’ll keep going until the end of the season, try and win as many games as possible and hopefully that will take us into next year.”
- Joe Hart is on EA Sports Fifa 13 Ultimate Team. You can build your squad, auction for new players, compete online and buy Ultimate Team points at game.co.uk
